Loanshark runner nabbe

A 30-YEAR-OLD man was arrested on Monday morning for suspected loansharking activities, said officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division.

Bank books, ATM cards, SIM cards, bank transaction receipts and a mobile phone containing suspected debtors' records were seized at the man's home at Jalan Teck Whye.

Police said that the man is believed to have owed money to a loanshark organisation and turned to acting as a runner in order to pay back his debts.

The man allegedly helped the loanshark by checking debtors' information, doing bank transfers, issuing loans and collecting loan repayments.

The suspect will be charged on Tuesday with the offence of assisting in the business of an unlicensed moneylender. Previously, if found guilty a person could be fined up $200,000 or jailed for two years, or both, as a first-time offender.

However, the amended Moneylenders' Act 2008, which came into effect on Feb 11, means the man could now be fined up to $300,000, with a mandatory imprisonment term of up to four years and mandatory caning of up to six strokes, if convicted.