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'Give my bank account number? No problem'
Youths lured by jobs with easy money didn't suspect anything until loan sharks started harassing them
By Lediati Tan and Geraldine Yeo
May 28, 2009
HARASSED: (Above) Anna with boyfriend Melvin outside his flat in Whampoa which has black paint on the door. There are also two CCTV cameras installed above the door, which caught images of someone splashing paint (below). TNP PICTURE: CHOO CHWEE HUA
THE nine youths thought they had landed the perfect part-time job. For four hours of work a day, they were paid between $50 and $100.
And it was easy work. All they had to do was answer calls from 'clients'.
The catch? They had to reveal their personal and bank account details to the 'clients'. The 'clients' would then transfer money into their bank accounts, which they would later withdraw and hand to their boss.
They saw nothing wrong with that. It was easy money, they thought.
But 1 1/2 months later, they started being hounded by loan sharks demanding that they repay their debts.
When they denied borrowing any money, their homes were splashed with paint. Shoe racks were also set on fire.
That was when they suspected that their boss could have used their personal details to borrow from loan sharks - an allegation he denied when The New Paper contacted him.
The youths have made numerous police reports but claim they are still being harassed.
We spoke to five of them, of which only one, Jake Chia, a 21-year-old polytechnic student, was willing to be named. The rest feared reprisals from the loan sharks.
One of them, Brandon, 21, said a man called Desmond phoned him in mid-February to tell him that a friend had recommended him for a telemarketing job at a property investment firm.
PICTURE COURTESY OF MELVIN
Candy (not her real name), 20, received a similar offer from Desmond after she responded to an online job ad around the same time.
Brandon, who had just completed national service, and Candy, a private school student, didn't know each other. They and three of Brandon's friends accepted the job offers.
Before they started work in early March, Brandon and his friends met a man, who told them he owned the company, at Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre.
They described the middle-aged man as plump and of medium height. He spoke in Mandarin and acted like a successful businessman. He said his office was being renovated and they had to work out of a coffee shop at the shopping centre.
When asked about the company's name, he said it did not have a name yet as it was not fully set-up. He made photocopies of their identity cards (ICs), claiming it was for the company's records. They said they did not suspect anything. They were given pre-paid SIM cards to take calls from 'clients'.
'All legal'
Candy, who chose to work from home, first met the boss at Boon Lay MRT station, which is near her home.
Early last month, two more of Brandon's friends, Jake Chia and Anna (not her real name), both 21, joined them. They said they worked from 6pm to 10pm and the boss was usually with them at the coffee shop.
Brandon's friend, Melvin, a 21-year-old poly graduate, said: 'We took three to five phone calls a day. Each call lasted less than five minutes. At the end of the day, the same callers would call back to confirm that the transaction is completed.'
The amount they withdrew each day was between $300 and $1,800.
Those who worked out of the coffee shop said they worked about three days a week. But there were some days when they didn't receive any call, but they still got paid.
They said the boss always paid them on time - at the end of each day. They claimed they did not suspect anything about the transfers, but did ask the boss once about them.
'He told us not to worry and said it was all legal. We believed him,' Brandon said.
Anna said: 'He was very convincing and seemed to be knowledgeable about property. He seemed rich and took out wads of money to show us he was earning money. We also met a few of his friends, who were well-dressed and carried themselves well.'
The boss treated them well and often paid for their meals after work, the youths said. In mid-April, he even held a 'thank you' dinner for them.
That was when Brandon and his friends met Candy and two other part-timers.
But on 24 Apr, the group smelled something fishy when they had trouble contacting their boss. They then started getting threatening phone calls from strangers asking them to pay their debts.
It was then that they suspected their boss could have used their personal details to borrow from loan sharks. When they finally got him on the phone, he denied their allegations, refused to meet them and hung up, they claimed.
Fearing that they could have got involved in something illegal, eight of them made a joint police report on 1 May. Jake said he made a report on his own a few days later.
A police spokesman confirmed the 1 May report and said investigations are ongoing.
On 2 May, Candy's home was splashed with paint. For the next three weeks, the harassment continued, with her shoe rack being set on fire. Brandon also had his shoe rack burnt and the others' homes were splashed with paint. They have made several police reports - Candy alone has made seven - but the harassment has not stopped.
Last Friday, Anna, who is Melvin's girlfriend, said her flat was splashed with paint again. Several of them said they have installed CCTV cameras. Melvin said his family members also take turns to 'guard' the house 24hours a day, keeping a lookout for suspicious characters.
Too trusting
His 50-year-old mum has taken unpaid leave since 1 May to stay at home.
'We never sleep well. Every time we hear the beeping alert, when somebody approaches the flat, we get up to check,' he said.
Anna said she regretted trusting her boss.
She said: 'We're in need of money as we've just finished our diplomas and need a job, but not to the extent of borrowing from loan sharks. I would rather return the money we earned than be in this mess.'
Could the boss be running an illegal business?
Criminal lawyer Luke Lee said the business sounded fishy. He said the boss could be 'insulating himself from track records of the money' by using the youths.
Mr Lee said it was possible that the boss had used the part-timers' ICs to borrow money from loan sharks.
'When he uses their ICs, he's free of all responsibilities for repayment,' he added.
'The students, who are fresh from school, were perhaps a little too trusting.'
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WHAT THEY DID FOR BOSS
At 6pm, part-timer meets boss at coffee shop at Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre and waits for calls on handphone
When 'client' calls, part-timer gives his personal details including bank account number. Caller transfers money to part-timer's account.
Caller calls back later to confirm if transfer went through.
At 10pm, part-timer knocks off and goes to ATM, withdraws the transferred money and passes it to boss.
Boss pays part-timer $50 to $100 in cash.
'Give my bank account number? No problem'
Youths lured by jobs with easy money didn't suspect anything until loan sharks started harassing them
By Lediati Tan and Geraldine Yeo
May 28, 2009
HARASSED: (Above) Anna with boyfriend Melvin outside his flat in Whampoa which has black paint on the door. There are also two CCTV cameras installed above the door, which caught images of someone splashing paint (below). TNP PICTURE: CHOO CHWEE HUA
THE nine youths thought they had landed the perfect part-time job. For four hours of work a day, they were paid between $50 and $100.
And it was easy work. All they had to do was answer calls from 'clients'.
The catch? They had to reveal their personal and bank account details to the 'clients'. The 'clients' would then transfer money into their bank accounts, which they would later withdraw and hand to their boss.
They saw nothing wrong with that. It was easy money, they thought.
But 1 1/2 months later, they started being hounded by loan sharks demanding that they repay their debts.
When they denied borrowing any money, their homes were splashed with paint. Shoe racks were also set on fire.
That was when they suspected that their boss could have used their personal details to borrow from loan sharks - an allegation he denied when The New Paper contacted him.
The youths have made numerous police reports but claim they are still being harassed.
We spoke to five of them, of which only one, Jake Chia, a 21-year-old polytechnic student, was willing to be named. The rest feared reprisals from the loan sharks.
One of them, Brandon, 21, said a man called Desmond phoned him in mid-February to tell him that a friend had recommended him for a telemarketing job at a property investment firm.
PICTURE COURTESY OF MELVIN
Candy (not her real name), 20, received a similar offer from Desmond after she responded to an online job ad around the same time.
Brandon, who had just completed national service, and Candy, a private school student, didn't know each other. They and three of Brandon's friends accepted the job offers.
Before they started work in early March, Brandon and his friends met a man, who told them he owned the company, at Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre.
They described the middle-aged man as plump and of medium height. He spoke in Mandarin and acted like a successful businessman. He said his office was being renovated and they had to work out of a coffee shop at the shopping centre.
When asked about the company's name, he said it did not have a name yet as it was not fully set-up. He made photocopies of their identity cards (ICs), claiming it was for the company's records. They said they did not suspect anything. They were given pre-paid SIM cards to take calls from 'clients'.
'All legal'
Candy, who chose to work from home, first met the boss at Boon Lay MRT station, which is near her home.
Early last month, two more of Brandon's friends, Jake Chia and Anna (not her real name), both 21, joined them. They said they worked from 6pm to 10pm and the boss was usually with them at the coffee shop.
Brandon's friend, Melvin, a 21-year-old poly graduate, said: 'We took three to five phone calls a day. Each call lasted less than five minutes. At the end of the day, the same callers would call back to confirm that the transaction is completed.'
The amount they withdrew each day was between $300 and $1,800.
Those who worked out of the coffee shop said they worked about three days a week. But there were some days when they didn't receive any call, but they still got paid.
They said the boss always paid them on time - at the end of each day. They claimed they did not suspect anything about the transfers, but did ask the boss once about them.
'He told us not to worry and said it was all legal. We believed him,' Brandon said.
Anna said: 'He was very convincing and seemed to be knowledgeable about property. He seemed rich and took out wads of money to show us he was earning money. We also met a few of his friends, who were well-dressed and carried themselves well.'
The boss treated them well and often paid for their meals after work, the youths said. In mid-April, he even held a 'thank you' dinner for them.
That was when Brandon and his friends met Candy and two other part-timers.
But on 24 Apr, the group smelled something fishy when they had trouble contacting their boss. They then started getting threatening phone calls from strangers asking them to pay their debts.
It was then that they suspected their boss could have used their personal details to borrow from loan sharks. When they finally got him on the phone, he denied their allegations, refused to meet them and hung up, they claimed.
Fearing that they could have got involved in something illegal, eight of them made a joint police report on 1 May. Jake said he made a report on his own a few days later.
A police spokesman confirmed the 1 May report and said investigations are ongoing.
On 2 May, Candy's home was splashed with paint. For the next three weeks, the harassment continued, with her shoe rack being set on fire. Brandon also had his shoe rack burnt and the others' homes were splashed with paint. They have made several police reports - Candy alone has made seven - but the harassment has not stopped.
Last Friday, Anna, who is Melvin's girlfriend, said her flat was splashed with paint again. Several of them said they have installed CCTV cameras. Melvin said his family members also take turns to 'guard' the house 24hours a day, keeping a lookout for suspicious characters.
Too trusting
His 50-year-old mum has taken unpaid leave since 1 May to stay at home.
'We never sleep well. Every time we hear the beeping alert, when somebody approaches the flat, we get up to check,' he said.
Anna said she regretted trusting her boss.
She said: 'We're in need of money as we've just finished our diplomas and need a job, but not to the extent of borrowing from loan sharks. I would rather return the money we earned than be in this mess.'
Could the boss be running an illegal business?
Criminal lawyer Luke Lee said the business sounded fishy. He said the boss could be 'insulating himself from track records of the money' by using the youths.
Mr Lee said it was possible that the boss had used the part-timers' ICs to borrow money from loan sharks.
'When he uses their ICs, he's free of all responsibilities for repayment,' he added.
'The students, who are fresh from school, were perhaps a little too trusting.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT THEY DID FOR BOSS
At 6pm, part-timer meets boss at coffee shop at Upper Serangoon Shopping Centre and waits for calls on handphone
When 'client' calls, part-timer gives his personal details including bank account number. Caller transfers money to part-timer's account.
Caller calls back later to confirm if transfer went through.
At 10pm, part-timer knocks off and goes to ATM, withdraws the transferred money and passes it to boss.
Boss pays part-timer $50 to $100 in cash.
