20YO Loan Shark Runner Saved From Prison ‘Coz He Was ‘Unusually Kind’ To Debtors

This is a story that could’ve made the plot of a popular Korean drama. In fact, if it was ever adapted into a show by Mediacorp, it could be the next 豹子胆, a pretty popular Channel 8 drama for 90’s kids.

Here’s a summary of the entire case:

  • A young guy got addicted to gambling and started borrowing from loan sharks
  • He couldn’t pay back the money and started working to pay off his debts
  • As a loan shark runner, he tried to spare his victims the humiliation of being chased
  • Police arrested him after a police report was lodged
  • A judge decided he’s pretty “okay” and decides to spare him prison time

Interested? Read on.

Read Also: Nas Daily Buay Tahan a S’porean’s Complaint & Passively Aggressively Fired Back

Here’s what happened

On 19 Sep, Shinmin Daily reported on a loan shark runner that escaped jail time because he was kind to his victims.

Chen Yuxiang is a 20-year-old private hire driver (just realized that there’s no minimum age to be a private-hire driver as long as he or she has two years’ driving experience).

Unfortunately for him, he got hooked to online gambling back in 2014 and started borrowing money from friends.

On Aug 2014, he came across an ad on Carousell advertising the services of a loanshark named Kelvin.

And he proceeded to borrow money from him.

Fun fact: You’re not supposed to use Carousell to loan money (but of course, some people are even using it to sell maids, so anyways).

Became a Loan Shark Runner

Because Chen didn’t have the money to pay back his debts, he became a loan shark runner.

Whether it was because he understood what it was like to be harassed for money, or he’s just an empathetic individual, his methods were a tad bit unusual.

He’ll lock the gates of his victims with a bicycle chain and a debtor note.

Then, he’ll take a video and send it to his boss. His boss would then send it to the victims.

However, that’s where his methods differed. He’ll proceed to remove the chain and note after that, cleaning up before he leaves the scene.

Presumedly, it’s so they wouldn’t have to suffer the shame of having their neighbours know they borrowed money from loansharks.

(Article continues below) Xing Xing is a 34-year-old Singaporean lady who decides to meet up with an online friend she found in Facebook. But it turns out that he’s not what he seems to be: Prepare boxes of tissue and watch the saddest Singapore Facebook love story here:

(Since you’re here, subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more informative videos lah)

Judge Says “No Jail Time” For This “Fine” Young Man

On 9 Jan, one of his victims informed the police about Chen. His vehicle was identified through CCTV and he was arrested.

Normally, loanshark runners are given a one-year jail term.

However, the judge saw something different in him and decided not to sentence him to jail.

According to the judge, Chen showed that he has empathy and would be able to reform himself.

In the end, the judge sentenced Chen to 24 months of probation instead after taking his young age into consideration.

Under the law, first-time offenders, if convicted of the offence of loan shark harassment, will be fined up to $50,000, jailed up to 5 years and given up to six strokes of the cane.

So the lesson learned? Don’t gamble.

Second lesson? Kindness begets kindness.

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