Several Malaysians caught as Singapore police cripple loan shark syndicate

ALL content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20120729-362049.html

Singapore police have smashed a loan shark syndicate and arrested several Malaysians who are believed to have harassed victims for payments for the past two years.

A seven-hour sting was conducted by the Singapore police force in several locations on the island state on July 26, leading to the arrest of 11 men aged between 29 and 36 of various nationalities, including Malaysians, who acted as thugs and debt collectors in order to collect payments.

In the sting, police seized about S$50,000 (RM127,000) cash, 40 cellphones, nine laptops, ATM cards, bank passbooks, SIM cards, computer equipment as well as records of illegal loans.

In addition, Singapore police froze 31 bank accounts believed to have been used by syndicate members.

It is also learnt their investigations showed that the syndicate recruited debt collectors from Malaysia by placing advertisements for "financial assistants" in the Malaysian media.

The syndicate is believed to have illegal loans in circulation estimated at about S$200,000 (RM511,000) with at least 200 debtors. It is also believed to have been responsible for more than 150 harassment cases in the country for the past two years.

Nine of the syndicate members were charged yesterday under the Singapore Moneylenders Act while investigation against the remaining suspects is ongoing.

"We will continue to come down hard on all such syndicate members. Those who try to recruit foreigners to do their bidding will not get away scot-free," Director of the Singapore Criminal Investigation Department Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Hoong Wee Teck said.

A spokesperson from Bukit Aman police headquarters said they were assisting their Singaporean counterparts on the case but declined to elaborate on the matter.