Singapore — People in the illegal moneylending business are getting younger and younger all the time.
One of the latest being investigated by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for suspected involvement in unlicensed moneylending is so young that he or she might not even have taken the PSLE or Primary School Leaving Examinations.
The SPF revealed on Tuesday (Dec 7) that it is investigating 189 people, including this 12-year-old, who is suspected of being involved in the unlicensed moneylending racket.
For two weeks, between Nov 22 and Dec 3, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and seven police land divisions carried out simultaneous raids across the country to nab the suspects.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that 16 suspects had allegedly harassed debtors’ at their residences,” said SPF.
Another 37 suspects are believed to be runners who had helped these illegal moneylenders by carrying out money transfers at ATMs. One suspect is believed to have given false contact information to an unlicensed moneylender, leading to someone being harassed at home.
The other suspects allegedly created bank accounts, then forwarded the ATM cards and details such as personal identification numbers and Internet banking tokens to these moneylenders to facilitate their activities.
Investigations against all the suspects are ongoing.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question on illegal moneylending activities, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam said that in October 2020 that there were 1,587 cases of illegal moneylending and related harassment cases reported.
Every year over the past five years, police have picked up 100 to 160 youths between 16 and 21 years old for such offences every year, said Mr Shanmugam. He noted however that there was no clear trend of an increase in such activities.
On Oct 31 this year, SPF said it was investigating 203 people aged between 16 and 71 for their suspected involvement in illegal moneylending.
Under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), when a bank account, ATM card or Internet Banking token of any person is used to facilitate moneylending by an unlicensed moneylender, that person is presumed to have assisted in carrying on the business of unlicensed moneylending, said SPF.
“First-time offenders found guilty of carrying on or assisting in a business of unlicensed moneylending shall be punished with an imprisonment term of up to four years, a fine of between S$30,000 and S$300,000, and caning of up to six strokes.”
First offenders found guilty of committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender shall be punished with an imprisonment term of up to five years, a fine of between S$5,000 and S$50,000, and caning of between three and six strokes, said SPF.
“The Police will continue to take tough enforcement action against those involved in the unlicensed moneylending businesses, regardless of their roles, and ensure that they face the full brunt of the law. This will include taking action against those who open or give away their bank accounts to aid unlicensed moneylenders.”
SPF warned that illegal moneylenders are increasingly using text messaging or online platforms to send unsolicited loan advertisements to targets.
The public is reminded not to reply or respond to such advertisements and to report these messages as spam. People should stay away from unlicensed moneylenders and not work with or help them in any way.
Call the Police at ‘999’ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if you suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in unlicensed moneylending, said the SPF. /TISG
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