Public-spirited residents help to nab loanshark runner
Published on Jun 12, 2012
By Cherie Thio
Thanks to the help of two public-spirited residents, police officers nabbed a 51-year-old man on Monday for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.
At about 8pm that day, a 27-year-old resident spotted the suspect loitering suspiciously at a Housing Development Board (HDB) block in Pasir Ris street 41. He thought that something was amiss and continued to observe the suspect. He also informed his 19-year-old neighbour to help him keep a lookout.
The suspect was seen scribbling some words on the wall of a staircase landing when he noticed that he was being watched. He took flight down the block and the two residents immediately gave chase to a bus-stop nearby. They called the police and officers came down to the scene to arrest the suspect.
After conducting a search around the vicinity, a red marker believed to be used by the suspect was seized. Preliminary investigations show that the suspect is believed to have scrawled loanshark-related graffiti on the wall of the staircase landing at the HDB block.
Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.
