Police arrested a 45-year-old man who is believed to be an unlicensed moneylender early this morning.

On 22 June 2010 at about 1.40 am , acting on information provided by a member of the public, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division conducted an operation in the vicinity of Yishun Central and arrested the suspect. An Automated-Teller Machine (ATM) card and a bank passbook with numerous bank transactions, which were found in his possession, were also seized as case exhibits. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is believed to have operated the business of unlicensed moneylending by himself, and had also been issuing loans and collecting repayments via bank transfers.

The suspect will be charged in Court on 23 June 2010 for the offence of operating the business of an unlicensed moneylender under the amended Moneylenders' Act 2008. First-time offenders found guilty of operating the business of an unlicensed moneylender shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years, a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $300,000, and shall also be liable to caning of not more than six strokes.

Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Hsu Sin Yun, thanked the member of public for the information provided and commended his officers for their excellent investigative work leading to the arrest of the suspect.