SINGAPORE - The Singapore Police Force has posted photos of 30 loanshark suspects on its official website in a bid to get the public to volunteer information on unsolved cases that happened this year.
The photos were captured by surveillance cameras when the suspects possibly carried out acts of loanshark harassment. Additional information such as the dates and locations of the loansharking activities also accompany the photos to aid in identifying the suspects.
According to the Singapore Police Force website, the 30 suspects comprise of 26 men and 4 women with the youngest being 14-years-old and the oldest around 50-years-old.
In a Shin Min Daily News report, MP for Marine Parade GRC, Mr Seah Kian Peng, said "I believe that the combined efforts of the police and the public can help reduce the number of loansharking activities."
Members of the public with information regarding any of the cases are encouraged to call the police hotline at 1800-2550000.
The punishment for assisting loansharks is a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, a jail term up to four years, and six strokes of the cane for first-time offenders."
This is another long standing crime in Singapore where the police could not truly eradicate thus far.
Lessons for me are:
1. loan sharking will be around as long as there are people who were desperate enough to borrow from them knowing the exorbitant interests charged will be a very heavy and troubling burdens. While the loans are really illegal and they can CHOOSE NOT to pay the loan sharks legally, most still try to pay. Question: Should the laws protect these borrowers and tell them JUST DON'T PAY? If that can be done, the loan sharks will automatically close shops! NO?;
2. the facts that the loan sharks are sending their 'runners', some of they are actually loan sharks' debtors turned runners!, to harass the supposed borrowers mean that the loan sharks think they are above the laws and can still enforce collection, even when their POOR loan approval process was so full of holes that they tend to harass the innocent parties WHOSE addresses were somehow given to the loan sharks as their residency! Maybe the loan sharks need to get their loan approval process to bank's standard? :-);
3. difficulties in 'catching' the loan sharks' runners EVEN with supposedly close circuit TV (CCTV) images? This one is puzzling to me. Maybe I have watched too many Hollywoods' spy and detective movies to believe that the technologies are so advance that ONCE you have the image, you can match to the actual person easily and make your 'arrests'! It seems it takes TIME to process. Now, the police is calling on the public to provide such information, hopefully they get a great response as people contributing believe that their identities will remain safe.
The photos were captured by surveillance cameras when the suspects possibly carried out acts of loanshark harassment. Additional information such as the dates and locations of the loansharking activities also accompany the photos to aid in identifying the suspects.
According to the Singapore Police Force website, the 30 suspects comprise of 26 men and 4 women with the youngest being 14-years-old and the oldest around 50-years-old.
In a Shin Min Daily News report, MP for Marine Parade GRC, Mr Seah Kian Peng, said "I believe that the combined efforts of the police and the public can help reduce the number of loansharking activities."
Members of the public with information regarding any of the cases are encouraged to call the police hotline at 1800-2550000.
The punishment for assisting loansharks is a fine between $30,000 and $300,000, a jail term up to four years, and six strokes of the cane for first-time offenders."
This is another long standing crime in Singapore where the police could not truly eradicate thus far.
Lessons for me are:
1. loan sharking will be around as long as there are people who were desperate enough to borrow from them knowing the exorbitant interests charged will be a very heavy and troubling burdens. While the loans are really illegal and they can CHOOSE NOT to pay the loan sharks legally, most still try to pay. Question: Should the laws protect these borrowers and tell them JUST DON'T PAY? If that can be done, the loan sharks will automatically close shops! NO?;
2. the facts that the loan sharks are sending their 'runners', some of they are actually loan sharks' debtors turned runners!, to harass the supposed borrowers mean that the loan sharks think they are above the laws and can still enforce collection, even when their POOR loan approval process was so full of holes that they tend to harass the innocent parties WHOSE addresses were somehow given to the loan sharks as their residency! Maybe the loan sharks need to get their loan approval process to bank's standard? :-);
3. difficulties in 'catching' the loan sharks' runners EVEN with supposedly close circuit TV (CCTV) images? This one is puzzling to me. Maybe I have watched too many Hollywoods' spy and detective movies to believe that the technologies are so advance that ONCE you have the image, you can match to the actual person easily and make your 'arrests'! It seems it takes TIME to process. Now, the police is calling on the public to provide such information, hopefully they get a great response as people contributing believe that their identities will remain safe.
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