Jail time for loan-shark harassment could go up by 3 extra months
Judge: Those who target debtors' neighbours should get 2-3 months extra
Published on Aug 21, 2013
Red paint splashed on a debtor's neighbours' doors to pressure the debtor to pay up. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
By K. C. Vijayan Senior Law Correspondent
Loan-shark runners will be slapped with as many as three extra months in jail if they are caught harassing debtors' neighbours.
High Court Justice Tay Yong Kwang seemed to set this sentencing guideline in judgment grounds released yesterday, when he nearly doubled runner Quek Li Hao's punishment from 14 to 24 months after an appeal by the prosecution.
The judge made it clear that loan sharks cannot be allowed to treat innocent neighbours as "mere collateral damage".
"In my view, offenders who knowingly harass innocent persons... ought to be given an imprisonment term of two to three months higher than the benchmark sentence of 12 months' imprisonment."
BACKGROUND STORY
UNFAIR FOR THE INNOCENT
It's not our fault and it's unfair. Some loan sharks harass debtors' neighbours just to get more attention.
- Ms Nadira Aljunied, 31, whose door in MacPherson was splashed with paint last year