With the recent clamour regarding loan sharks, which in reality, has always been part of Singapore culture, but has only become problematic when reports of threats and harassment to employers have come to the attention of the media as of late.
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In line with this, any money-lending transactions from illegal entities are considered in violation of Singapore law and will be dealt with by authorities accordingly. However, this form of abuse may not necessarily be of a significant scale in terms of operations, but it may also come in the form of small neighbourhood operations, as well.
Pair Arrested For Illegal Money-lending Business in SG
A couple in Singapore were arrested on Sunday (May 12) for allegedly running an unlicensed money-lending business which targets foreign domestic workers in the country, as shared in a report by the Asia Times.
According to the report, the 60-year-old Singaporean man and a 45-year-old Filipino woman have allegedly issued loans to foreign domestic workers from November last year, according to a police statement issued on Monday.
Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, Woodlands Police Division and Tanglin Police Division arrested the couple in the Orchard Road area during an operation on May 12 (Sunday).
During the operation, two mobile phones, records of unlicensed money-lending activities and cash were also seized from the pair, who were found guilty of the charges filed against them last May 14 based on the Moneylenders Act.
Upon conviction, offenders can be fined a minimum of S$30,000 and a maximum of S$300,000, jailed for up to four years, and get six strokes of the cane, or any combination of the above.
In line with this, authorities urged employers to caution their workers to stay away from unlicensed money-lenders and to not work with or assist unlicensed money-lenders in any way, or they would be repatriated and barred from working in Singapore.
Regarding money matters, employees should only seek the help of their employer or seek for financial advice from credible industry experts, so as not to fall victim to unlicensed money-lenders or the so-called loan sharks that have been pestering both the debtor as well as their employer.
With the sky-high interests these unscrupulous entities put on their loan offers, it’s almost always certain that debtors will remain indebted to their creditors under this set-up, which could also cause hassle to the employers and other people involved.