NEWS
47 arrested in islandwide loansharking blitz
Police arrested 47 people, a total of 23 men and 24 women, for suspected involvement in loansharking activities in an island-wide operation between 5am to 8pm on August 7.
Officers conducted simultaneous raids at various locations including Ang Mo Kio, Marsiling and Tampines estates. The suspects, aged between 18 and 66, are believed to be borrowers or guarantors who agreed to assist the loansharks either for monetary gains or to offset their debts.
Preliminary investigations showed that these suspects had opened bank accounts and given away their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharking syndicates to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending businesses.
Investigations against all the suspects are still ongoing.
Under the Moneylenders' Act, when a bank account or ATM card of any person is used to facilitate unlicensed moneylending, that person is presumed to have assisted in the the business of unlicensed moneylending.
If found guilty, first-time offenders may be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, sentenced to a maximum of four years' jail and caning of not more than six strokes.
