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Monday, 21 November 2011
Singapore News Flash11 arrested for helping loansharks open bank accounts
SINGAPORE: Police have arrested 11 men for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.
The men, aged between 22 and 62, are said to have opened bank accounts and given away their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharking syndicates.
The arrests were made after simultaneous raids in various parts of Singapore from October 20-21.
Two of the younger suspects, aged 22 and 23 years, are believed to have aided the loanshark in sending harassment letters. These two suspects will be charged in court on Saturday under the Moneylenders Act.
Investigations on the other suspects are still ongoing.
Post By: Matthews
Loanshark harassment suspect nabbed
SINGAPORE: Police have arrested a 31-year-old suspect for involvement in loansharking activities, following a tip-off from an alert member of public.
Police said that at about 7.40pm on Tuesday, a member of public reported that a man was seen loitering suspiciously in the vicinity of Teban Gardens Road housing estate.
Officers responded immediately and arrested the suspect, who had with him two mobile phones and loansharking-related paraphernalia such as marker pens and cans of paint.
Early investigation showed the suspect is believed to be involved in several cases of loanshark harassment using debtor notes at housing estates located island-wide.
They include Teban Gardens, Woodlands, Boon Lay, Choa Chu Kang, Sin Ming, Ang Mo Kio, Buangkok, Yishun, Tampines and Bedok.
The suspect will be charged in court with loanshark harassment.
Post By: Kiong Huat
Six men arrested for loansharking activities
SINGAPORE: Police have arrested six men for suspected involvement in loansharking activities in two separate cases.
In the first case, just past midnight on Wednesday, police were alerted by a resident that a man was loitering around Bukit Batok Street 51.
Officers arrested the 31-year-old suspect after questioning him. He had with him items related to loansharking, including nine cans of paint, six bicycle locks, one pair of gloves and a mobile phone with suspected debtors' records.
Early investigations showed that he is a debtor-turned-runner. He is believed to be involved in several loanshark harassment cases in the Boon Lay and Bukit Batok housing estates.
Police also conducted an islandwide operation on Wednesday and arrested five men, aged between 17 and 59 years old.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects had opened bank accounts and gave away their ATM cards and PIN to loansharking syndicates for their business.
Post By: Sulaiman
Post By: Sulaiman
Click on the following link for more recent news:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/Singapore's youngest loanshark victim?
By Chen Jing Ting
THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD Tommy (not his real name) could well be Singapore's youngest loanshark victim, chalking up a $30,000 debt.
Hooked on Internet soccer betting, he would place bets on the Spanish Primera Liga, on as many as nine games a day.
He started with $50 bets with his friends and eventually moved on to $1,000 wagers online, using his friends' accounts.
When his losses started piling up, those friends introduced him to loansharks to make good on his debts.
His father, a company director, and his mother, an administration executive, found out when the loansharks came a-calling.
Youths like Tommy are worrying counsellors, who are seeing more young Singaporeans hooked on gambling.
One Hope Centre, which counsels youths with gambling addictions, saw 12 such youths last year. This year, in the first three months alone, it has already seen eight.
The Reverend Dr Edward Job, executive director of Christian Care Services Singapore, said: '(Tommy) doesn't think he has a problem, so he doesn't want to be counselled. I could only advise his parents to block betting websites (on his computer) and cut off his mobile phone's Internet access.'
On a profile of young gambling addicts, One Hope's executive director, the Reverend Tan Lye Keng, said they are mainly in their 20s and usually turn to Internet soccer betting.
Such websites provide those who bet with credit, so youths do not need much capital before they start to bet.
'The gamblers are tech-savvy and can easily access the Internet through computers and mobile phones,' explained the Rev Tan.
Post By: Kenneth
SINGAPORE: Two 17—year—old youths have been arrested for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.
The police were conducting a road block along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 on Saturday morning when they came across a taxi ferrying two passengers.
Checks revealed a bottle of white paint concealed in a plastic bag hidden under the taxi’s rear seats.
One suspect was arrested after a short chase, while the other was eventually tracked down and arrested later that same day in Jalan Tenteram in Whampoa.
Both suspects were allegedly on their way to splash paint at a debtor’s unit in Ang Mo Kio.
Teen "loansharking runners" nabbed
SINGAPORE: Two 17—year—old youths have been arrested for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.The police were conducting a road block along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 on Saturday morning when they came across a taxi ferrying two passengers.
Checks revealed a bottle of white paint concealed in a plastic bag hidden under the taxi’s rear seats.
The officers then interviewed both passengers who suddenly bolted and fled in different directions.
One suspect was arrested after a short chase, while the other was eventually tracked down and arrested later that same day in Jalan Tenteram in Whampoa.
Both suspects were allegedly on their way to splash paint at a debtor’s unit in Ang Mo Kio.
If convicted, they can each be fined up to S$50,000, given up to six strokes of the cane and jailed up to five years.
— CNA/wk
Post By: Khairul
Loan sharks engage in illegal money lending and their runners do dirty work for loan sharks such as harassing debtors who default on repayment.
According to local English newspaper The Straits Times on Monday, when it did a count based on police releases, of 124 loan sharks and runners arrested, 31 - or one in four - were aged 19 and below. The youngest was a 12-year-old boy caught last month as part of a group of five youth who were harassing debtors. Indeed, there were even seven girls among the young people arrested.
In May, four girls aged 15 and 16 were caught in the act with the help of a local resident. Two of them were spotted at a corridor armed with a blue marker and bags of paint.
To reduce the risk of getting caught, syndicate members are staying behind the scenes, preferring to hire runners to harass debtors for small fees.
The Singapore police have been clamping down hard on loan shark activities, with harsher penalties added in late 2005.
The police are also working with schools to prevent youth from being "lured and recruited." The stiffest possible punishment for those who harass is a 40,000 Singapore dollars (about 27,972 U. S. dollars) fine and three years' jail. They can also be caned.
One in four loan shark runners in Singapore aged 19 and below
Source: Xinhua
Seduced into making an easy buck, while others are recruited to pay off their debts, runners for loan sharks seem to be getting younger in Singapore.
Loan sharks engage in illegal money lending and their runners do dirty work for loan sharks such as harassing debtors who default on repayment.
According to local English newspaper The Straits Times on Monday, when it did a count based on police releases, of 124 loan sharks and runners arrested, 31 - or one in four - were aged 19 and below. The youngest was a 12-year-old boy caught last month as part of a group of five youth who were harassing debtors. Indeed, there were even seven girls among the young people arrested.
Last year, police in the city state nabbed 63 youth for being loan shark runners. In 2007, 59 youth were arrested.
In May, four girls aged 15 and 16 were caught in the act with the help of a local resident. Two of them were spotted at a corridor armed with a blue marker and bags of paint.
The cases have led the police to warn youngsters against being made used of by loan sharks.
A police spokesman said many young people were referred by friends to work for these syndicates for a quick buck.
To reduce the risk of getting caught, syndicate members are staying behind the scenes, preferring to hire runners to harass debtors for small fees.
Those taken on board as runners have included debtors unable to pay off their loans, foreign workers and youth who know too little to yield any leads about the masterminds if they are nabbed. A loan shark said he used youth because they are more daring.
The Singapore police have been clamping down hard on loan shark activities, with harsher penalties added in late 2005.
The police are also working with schools to prevent youth from being "lured and recruited." The stiffest possible punishment for those who harass is a 40,000 Singapore dollars (about 27,972 U. S. dollars) fine and three years' jail. They can also be caned.
Post By: Winston
About Me
This blog is created to let youths in Singapore be aware of the various loanshark activities and how they can prevent themselves from becoming a victim.It is also for them to not to be involve in the activities over the greed of money or materials.
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Winston
Matthews
Kiong Huat
Kenneth
Khairul
Sulaiman
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