The Police have arrested a total of 90 men and 33 women, for their suspected involvement in loansharking activities over the past three days.
In the first three-day operation that ended on 25 October 2017, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the six Police Divisions conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Singapore, resulting in the arrest of 76 men and 33 women. Preliminary investigations revealed that 14 suspects are believed to be runners who had carried out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transactions on behalf of the loansharks and procured ATM cards for syndicates’ usage. Another five suspects are believed to have carried out acts of loanshark harassment by splashing paint and scrawling loanshark-related graffiti on walls, while one suspect is believed to have provided false contact information for purpose of obtaining loan.
The remaining 89 suspects are believed to have opened bank accounts and given away their ATM cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharks to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending businesses.
In a separate operation conducted on 25 October 2017, officers from CID and Police Intelligence Department (PID) conducted raids at various locations island-wide, resulting in the arrest of 14 men. During the operation, cash amounting to $24,768, mobile phones, a laptop, ATM cards and Internet banking dongles were seized as case exhibits. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects are believed to be members with various roles in the loansharking syndicate.
Three men, aged between 37 to 43, will be charged in Court on 27 October 2017 for offences under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010). Investigations against the remaining 120 suspects are ongoing.
Under the Moneylenders’ Act (Revised Edition 2010), when a bank account or ATM card of any person is used to facilitate moneylending by an unlicensed moneylender, that person is presumed to have assisted in the carrying on the business of unlicensed moneylending.
• First-time offenders found guilty of carrying on a business of unlicensed moneylending may be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, be imprisoned for a term of up to four years and shall also be liable to be punished with caning of up to six strokes.
• First-time offenders found guilty of assisting in the business of unlicensed moneylending may be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, be imprisoned for a term of up to four years and shall also be liable to be punished with caning of up to six strokes.
• 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 of up to 5 years, a fine of between $5,000 and $50,000, and shall also be liable to caning of between 3 and 6 strokes.
Members of the public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not to 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.
The Police will take tough enforcement action against those involved in the loansharking business, regardless of their roles, and they will face the full brunt of the law. This includes taking action against those who open or give away their bank accounts to aid unlicensed moneylenders.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
26 October 2017 @ 8:45 PM