A MAID, who moonlighted as a loan shark on her Sundays off, was jailed for a year and eight months by a district court on Tuesday.

Rebecca Andicoy Alcalde, 28, gave loans of up to $300 to other maids here at 20 per cent interest, to be paid within three months.

Operating only on Sundays mostly at Lucky Plaza shopping centre, she would demand an additional $30 on the following weekend if debtors missed their monthly payment.

The court heard that Alcalde had financial difficulties in 2001 soon after coming to work here.

She got to know a moneylender through a friend and borrowed $400 at 15 per cent interest.

She repaid it within two months.

In 2005, she noticed Filipino nationals working here borrowing money from loan sharks or making repayments when she frequented Lucky Plaza on her off-days on Sundays.

She approached a friend, who used to be a moneylender for advice and learnt how to keep track of debts and payments.

Without her employers' knowledge, she then went into business with $5,000 of her savings.

Her friends would recommend her to other Filipino maids who were in financial difficulties and business picked up.

Alcalde on Tuesday pleaded guilty to 11 charges of illegal money lending, with 21 similar charges taken into consideration by the judge in sentencing.