In two separate cases, Police have arrested two men aged 26 and 27 years old for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.

In the first case which occurred at about 2.00 pm today ( 11 June 2010 ), officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division spotted a man behaving suspiciously while conducting anti-crime rounds in the vicinity of Sembawang MRT. Upon a check, the man was found in possession of two handphones and four ATM cards which did not belong to him. Preliminary investigations indicated that the 27-year-old subject is a debtor-turned-runner and had assisted the loansharks in their business by conducting bank transfers and collecting ATM cards from those who were willing to open bank accounts for the loansharks. The suspect was subsequently placed under arrest for suspected involvement in loansharking activities and the two handphones and four ATM cards were seized as case exhibits.

In the second case which also occurred today at about 2.10 pm , another group of officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division arrested a 26-year-old suspect in the vicinity of Sembawang MRT through follow-up investigations. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is a debtor-turned-runner who had assisted the loansharks in their businesses by conducting checks on debtors' units to confirm that harassment acts had been carried out.

Investigations against the two suspects are on-going.

First-time offenders found guilty of assisting in the carrying on of the business of an unlicensed moneylender, may be fined not less than $30,000/- and not more than $300,000/-, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding 4 years and shall also be liable to be punished with caning with not more than 6 strokes.

Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division HQ, DAC Hsu Sin Yun commended his officers for their vigilance and good investigative follow-up which led to the arrests of the two suspects.