Between 30 June 2010 and 2 July 2010 , Police arrested three men aged between 21 and 42 years old for suspected involvement in loansharking activities in three separate cases.

On 30 June 2010 at about 11.25pm , through follow-up investigations, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division arrested a 26-year-old man along Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 for suspected involvement in loansharking activities. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is a debtor-turned-runner and had facilitated in the business of a loanshark by several opening bank accounts and giving away Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Number (PIN) to the loanshark. All the bank accounts believed to be used in the illicit unlicensed moneylending business have since been frozen.

In the second case, on 2 July 2010 at about 7.00 am , a 21 year-old man was arrested in the vicinity of Punggol Drive through follow-up investigations. Upon his arrest, two handphones believed to contain debtors' records were seized. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect was assisting a loanshark to conduct checks at debtors' unit to confirm that harassment had been carried out by other loanshark runners.

In the third case, on 2 July 2010 at about 8.00am, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division conducted a raid at a unit in Yishun Street 21 and arrested a 42 year-old man who is believed to be involved in loansharking activities. Several ATM cards, handphones containing suspected debtors' records and bank transaction receipts were subsequently seized from the suspect. Preliminary investigations indicated that the suspect is a debtor-turned-runner and had assisted the loanshark by collecting repayments and carrying out bank transfers.

The suspect involved in the second case will be charged in Court on 3 July 2010 under the amended Moneylenders' Act 2008 while investigations against the other 2 suspects are still 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, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Hsu Sin Yun commended his officers for their perseverance and efforts in clamping down on loansharking activities.