Green twist to O$P$ sees man charged for targeting machine

Forget walls of flats and doors of homes.

One man allegedly took loan shark harassment to a whole new battleground. He was charged in court yesterday after he allegedly splashed green paint and placed a note on a POSB cash deposit machine.

Continuing his colour-coordinated attack, he is said to have penned the note in green ink, listing the personal particulars of two individuals with their POSB account numbers, and adding, for emphasis, "O$P$" (short for "owe money, pay money"). The note was placed on the machine and some damage was caused to the latter.

Medi Johari, who turns 42 today, is said to have acted on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender in connection with a loan taken by an unknown debtor.

The alleged offence took place at 5.09am near Block 59, New Upper Changi Road, on Sunday.

Police said that between last Friday and Sunday, they received multiple reports of automated teller machines (ATMs) being splashed with paint. In these cases, debtors' notes believed to be related to loan shark harassment were found on the ATMs.

Medi was arrested by officers from Bedok police division near Syed Alwi Road on Wednesday. Mobile phones, gloves and a mask were seized during the operation.

Preliminary investigations showed that he is believed to be responsible for other cases of loan shark harassment targeting debtors' vehicles and residential units.

Medi was remanded at Bedok station for a week for investigation. He will be back in court on Nov 7. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to five years, fined up to $50,000, and liable to at least three and not more than six strokes of the cane.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Nov 01, 2014.
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