Loanshark cases down, arrests up

HARASSMENT from loan sharks are on the decline, thanks to tougher laws and their sustained enforcement by the police, said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee in Parliament on Tuesday.

These intensified efforts have also led to more of them and their runners being arrested in the first 10 months of this year.

But it is still early days for declaring victory in the battle against this scourge of society, he said when he gave an update on the situation.

The number of harassment cases has dropped 8.4 per cent, from 15,120 to 13,848. It is, however, still higher than the 9,400 cases for the whole of 2007 and 11,400 cases in 2008. It shot up to 17,900 in 2009.

The number of people arrested, on the other hand, has soared 66 per cent in the first 10 months against the same period last year. In all, 1,327 people were nabbed for harassment and loan sharking offences.

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