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Sep 10, 2009
Arrest warrant for teen <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Khushwant Singh </td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
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Accused loan-shark runner Azzam Azhar told his mother, who did not want to be named, that he was going to the toilet and then failed to show up when his case was called. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
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A 19-YEAR-OLD alleged loan-shark runner arrived at the Subordinate Courts at 10am on Wednesday with his mother, but when his case was to be heard an hour later, he was nowhere to be found. Azzam Azhar was to plead guilty to abetting four accomplices in harassing a debtor on behalf of a loan-shark syndicate, his father said. But the teen disappeared after telling his mother he was going to the toilet. District Judge Lee Poh Choo adjourned the matter to 3pm and when Azzam remained absent, she issued a warrant for his arrest.
His mother, who posted the teen's bail of $10,000, may now have to forfeit it. Azzam's father, a delivery driver, took time off from work to search for his son near the Subordinate Courts. At the afternoon court session, he told The Straits Times: 'We have also asked his friends to look out for him at their usual hangouts but no luck so far.' Azzam, who dropped out of school at 16, was 'very stubborn', said the father. The couple, both 41, also have an 18-year-old son and a daughter, 16. Azzam's accomplices, aged 13 to 15, were also arrested in June and will be dealt with by the Juvenile Court. They cannot be named, as they are minors. Loan-shark runners are getting younger and this problem was raised in Parliament last month. Then, Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee revealed that 81 youths had been arrested from January to June this year.
Sep 10, 2009
Arrest warrant for teen <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Khushwant Singh </td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
Accused loan-shark runner Azzam Azhar told his mother, who did not want to be named, that he was going to the toilet and then failed to show up when his case was called. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
</td></tr> </tbody></table>
A 19-YEAR-OLD alleged loan-shark runner arrived at the Subordinate Courts at 10am on Wednesday with his mother, but when his case was to be heard an hour later, he was nowhere to be found. Azzam Azhar was to plead guilty to abetting four accomplices in harassing a debtor on behalf of a loan-shark syndicate, his father said. But the teen disappeared after telling his mother he was going to the toilet. District Judge Lee Poh Choo adjourned the matter to 3pm and when Azzam remained absent, she issued a warrant for his arrest.
His mother, who posted the teen's bail of $10,000, may now have to forfeit it. Azzam's father, a delivery driver, took time off from work to search for his son near the Subordinate Courts. At the afternoon court session, he told The Straits Times: 'We have also asked his friends to look out for him at their usual hangouts but no luck so far.' Azzam, who dropped out of school at 16, was 'very stubborn', said the father. The couple, both 41, also have an 18-year-old son and a daughter, 16. Azzam's accomplices, aged 13 to 15, were also arrested in June and will be dealt with by the Juvenile Court. They cannot be named, as they are minors. Loan-shark runners are getting younger and this problem was raised in Parliament last month. Then, Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee revealed that 81 youths had been arrested from January to June this year.
