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Aug 19, 2009
War on loan sharks
By Jessica Lim
Lorong Ah Soo resident, Lim E. H., surveying the damage caused by loan sharks outside his flat earlier this month. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
WITH guns blazing, Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee on Tuesday declared war on loan sharks and called on Singaporeans to join in the fight.
'We recognise that we are in a battle of wits and nerves with determined loan-shark syndicates,' he said on Tuesday, making clear that the Home Affairs Ministry is on a relentless campaign to search and destroy the scourge of many home owners.
Harassment tactics have become increasingly dangerous in tandem with a surge in their terror tactics, added Associate Professor Ho in Parliament.
But, he added: 'We are equally determined. Pressing on resolutely, we will not let these syndicates terrorise our neighbourhoods.' He sounded the battle cry when he responded to Madam Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC), who called for stiffer penalties, among other things. 'Is the penalty commensurate with the seriousness of the (crime of) vandalism?' she asked.
Later, she told The Straits Times that the level of harassment activities in her Paya Lebar ward has shot up - from one incident every four months to one every fortnight now.
'It is also more violent. We are seeing things we did not see before, like petrol bombs and innocent neighbours being harassed,' she added.
Prof Ho said tougher penalties and measures like the confiscation of assets had been put in place progressively since 2005. There was a respite in 2007 but last year, the number of cases jumped.
In the first half of this year, the number of loansharking and harassment reports rose from 4,759 to 9,395 compared to the same period last year. 'Loan sharks are now bolder in harassing innocent households. Families who have never borrowed from loan sharks have had their property damaged and their safety threatened,' he said.
'Harassment tactics have also becoming increasingly dangerous. These include setting on fire items placed in front of victims' flats, spraying vehicles with loan-shark graffiti and locking innocent victims in their flats.'
But a slew of measures is being considered to overcome them, which include disrupting the flow of money and resources and tackling the financiers who provide these, and having laws to punish loansharking activities conducted overseas, as well as anyone who knowingly facilitates their operations.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
Aug 19, 2009
War on loan sharks
By Jessica Lim
WITH guns blazing, Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee on Tuesday declared war on loan sharks and called on Singaporeans to join in the fight.
'We recognise that we are in a battle of wits and nerves with determined loan-shark syndicates,' he said on Tuesday, making clear that the Home Affairs Ministry is on a relentless campaign to search and destroy the scourge of many home owners.
Harassment tactics have become increasingly dangerous in tandem with a surge in their terror tactics, added Associate Professor Ho in Parliament.
But, he added: 'We are equally determined. Pressing on resolutely, we will not let these syndicates terrorise our neighbourhoods.' He sounded the battle cry when he responded to Madam Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC), who called for stiffer penalties, among other things. 'Is the penalty commensurate with the seriousness of the (crime of) vandalism?' she asked.
Later, she told The Straits Times that the level of harassment activities in her Paya Lebar ward has shot up - from one incident every four months to one every fortnight now.
'It is also more violent. We are seeing things we did not see before, like petrol bombs and innocent neighbours being harassed,' she added.
Prof Ho said tougher penalties and measures like the confiscation of assets had been put in place progressively since 2005. There was a respite in 2007 but last year, the number of cases jumped.
In the first half of this year, the number of loansharking and harassment reports rose from 4,759 to 9,395 compared to the same period last year. 'Loan sharks are now bolder in harassing innocent households. Families who have never borrowed from loan sharks have had their property damaged and their safety threatened,' he said.
'Harassment tactics have also becoming increasingly dangerous. These include setting on fire items placed in front of victims' flats, spraying vehicles with loan-shark graffiti and locking innocent victims in their flats.'
But a slew of measures is being considered to overcome them, which include disrupting the flow of money and resources and tackling the financiers who provide these, and having laws to punish loansharking activities conducted overseas, as well as anyone who knowingly facilitates their operations.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
The undercover police story appear in many movies.
