Two loanshark runners arrested

Two loanshark runners arrested

SINGAPORE - Police have arrested two men, aged 29 and 52, believed to be loanshark runners in two separate cases.

In the first case, acting on information received, police conducted an ambush and arrested a 29-year-old man along Segar Road on May 15 at about 5pm.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is a debtor-turned-runner who had assisted the loanshark syndicates to acquire Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) from other debtors. Officers also seized 11 ATM cards and one mobile phone from his possession.

In the second case, also acting on information received, the same team of officers arrested a 52-year-old man along Bukit Panjang Ring Road on May 15 around 9pm.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is a debtor-turned-runner who had assisted the loanshark syndicates to acquire ATM cards and PINs from other debtors and used them to perform ATM fund transactions. Police seized four ATM cards, some ATM transaction receipts, S$290 and one mobile phone in connection to the case.

Both suspects will be charged in Court. Under the Moneylenders Act 2010 (Revised Edition), first-time offenders found guilty of assisting in the carrying on of the business of an unlicensed moneylender, may be fined between $30,000 and $300,000, be imprisoned for a term up to four years and shall also be liable to be punished with caning of maximum six strokes.

natlim@sph.com.sg

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