T
Tadakatsu Honda
Guest
Singapore
Feb 25, 2010
2 loanshark runners charged
<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong
<!-- end by line -->
TWO Malaysians were charged in a district court on Thursday under the amended Moneylenders Act with helping a loanshark to harass a debtor. Loh Kok Chian, 26, and Wong Kok Hiang, 29, both face mandatory caning of three to six strokes for allegedly splashing blue paint on a debtor's door and defacing the wall of a staircase landing at a block of flats in Hougang Avenue 8 on Wednesday. Parliament passed amendments to the act last month and these came into effect on Feb 11. Authorities are now given more bite to tackle the spike in illegal moneylending activities in recent years. Latest figures released by the police showed that there were 18,600 cases of unlicensed moneylending last year, a 58 per cent jump from the 11,800 cases in 2008. Loh and Wong were remanded for a week for investigation. They will be back in court on March 4. If convicted, they face a jail term of up to five years and a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000.
Feb 25, 2010
2 loanshark runners charged
<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong
<!-- end by line -->
TWO Malaysians were charged in a district court on Thursday under the amended Moneylenders Act with helping a loanshark to harass a debtor. Loh Kok Chian, 26, and Wong Kok Hiang, 29, both face mandatory caning of three to six strokes for allegedly splashing blue paint on a debtor's door and defacing the wall of a staircase landing at a block of flats in Hougang Avenue 8 on Wednesday. Parliament passed amendments to the act last month and these came into effect on Feb 11. Authorities are now given more bite to tackle the spike in illegal moneylending activities in recent years. Latest figures released by the police showed that there were 18,600 cases of unlicensed moneylending last year, a 58 per cent jump from the 11,800 cases in 2008. Loh and Wong were remanded for a week for investigation. They will be back in court on March 4. If convicted, they face a jail term of up to five years and a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000.
