Three suspects nabbed for loansharking activities

[General Veers]

Three suspects nabbed for loansharking activities
Posted: 06 February 2012 1753 hrs

SINGAPORE : Police have arrested three men for suspected involvement in loanshark harassment and loansharking activities in different parts of Singapore in the last two days.

Police officers were on their rounds in the Tiong Bahru estate on Monday afternoon when they spotted a stationary car at a taxi stand with the engine running.

The officers conducted a check on the driver and his passenger and found loanshark-related paraphernalia in their possession.

The items included four containers of paint, a marker, a bicycle lock, two handphones, a tablet computer and three thumb drives believed to contain debtors' records.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects, aged 23 and 33, could have been involved in loanshark harassment by splashing paint and scrawling loanshark-related graffiti on debtors' units. Investigations are ongoing.

First-time offenders found guilty of acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender, committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, a fine of not less than S$5,000 and not more than S$50,000, and shall also be liable to caning of not less than three and not more than six strokes.

In the second arrest on Sunday afternoon, police were tipped off about the whereabouts of a suspected loanshark runner. The 28-year-old man had been spotted in the vicinity of Tampines Avenue 5. Police found mobile phones believed to contain debtors' records in the suspect's possession.

Preliminary investigations revealed the suspect to be a debtor-turned-runner who assisted loansharks by collecting loan repayments from debtors.

The suspect will be charged in court on Tuesday under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010).

First-time offenders found guilty of assisting in the carrying out of the business of an unlicensed moneylender may be fined not less than S$30,000 and not more than S$300,000, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding four years, and shall also be liable to be punished with caning with not more than six strokes.

- CNA/ms