The Police have arrested a 32-year-old woman for her suspected involvement in a case of loanshark harassment.
On 30 November 2020, the Police received a report from a victim who was harassed by unlicensed moneylenders and had provided her Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards to a loanshark runner.
Through investigations, officers from Bedok Police Division established the identity of the loanshark runner who collected the ATM cards from debtors and subsequently arrested her on 3 December 2020.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman is believed to have assisted in the loanshark operations by carrying out ATM transfers after collecting the ATM cards from debtors.
The woman will be charged in court on 5 December 2020 under the Moneylenders Act 2010 (Revised Edition). Under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), First time offenders found guilty of assisting in the business of unlicensed moneylending shall be fined not less than $30,000 and not more than $300,000 with mandatory imprisonment of up to four years, and mandatory caning of up to six strokes. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, offenders shall be liable to a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $300,000 with mandatory imprisonment of up to seven years, and mandatory caning of up to 12 strokes.
Members of the public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not work with or assist the loansharks in any way. The public can call the Police at ‘999’ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in illegal loansharking activities.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
05 December 2020 @ 12:55 AM