Island-wide operation results in 11 arrests for loansharking activities

The police arrested 11 people between the ages of 20 and 54 for their involvements in loansharking activities, between March 26 and 27.

The arrests of 6 men and 5 women were a result of an islandwide operation covering Toa Payoh, Woodlands, Kaki Bukit, Bukit Panjang and Bukit Batok housing estates.

The investigations revealed that the suspects have opened bank accounts and given away their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharks to facilitate their businesses.

The police also discovered that one of the men, aged 47, have also assisted the loanshark syndicates to procure ATM cards and PINs from others.

The man will be charged in court on March 29. First-time offenders found guilty of assisting in the carrying on of the business of an unlicensed moneylender, can be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, jailed up to 4 years, and are also liable to receiving up to 6 strokes of the cane.