Creative Debt Collector Who Dressed Up In Funeral Garb & Disturbed Employees Jailed

You probably thought you’d never hear of this guy again.

Dive deep into your memories.

Funeral garb… debt collector…?

This guy…?

Image: Facebook

Yeah, that guy. It’s a throwback to 2019 again.

Recap: Kneeling, Begging, Singing For Debt Collection

The man, Peh Chong Wee (our previous article called him Bai Feng Wei, which is the transliteration), 59, originally went viral on a video on Facebook page 是华人就进来 Chinese Page 是華人就進來, in which he was seen in funeral clothing.

And started begging to collect some debt in front of a company’s doors. This happened on 31 May 2019.

Image: Facebook

Peh was an actual debt collector legally contracted to collect S$170,000 from the engineering company in the video – his debt collection service is named Guarantee Debts Collection Service. And believe it or not, he’d been running that business for 20 years.

In 5 days, he went to the engineering company 4 times to beg.

But on 31 May 2019, Peh was arrested, along with another 47-year-old man for public nuisance.

Howeer, Peh seemed to live by the motto: Just because you got arrested doesn’t mean you have to stop. (Don’t follow this advice, kids. Unless you like prison or something.)

On 21 June 2019, Peh went again, this time wearing a shirt with a photo of the director of the engineering company, complete with O$P$ banners.

Image: Lianhe Zaobao

15 Jan 2020: Sentenced To Five Weeks Jail

He pleaded guilty to three harassment charges and one count of using criminal force on a public servant.

So what the hell happened?

Previously, it wasn’t very clear if the debt was legit.

As it turns out, court documents showed that Peh and another debt collector, Koh Yew Ghee, were indeed engaged to do so by a Ms Lena Lee in April 2019. They were to collect a debt on behalf of a company, LM Tech Tech Engineering and Construction, from Mr Ooi Swee Khoon, who was a director of PSP Solutions Engineering.

According to ACRA records, Ms Lee is a shareholder of LM Tech Tech Engineering and Construction. The debt amounts were not stated.

The first time they went to collect the debt (which was not shown in the video), Peh and Koh shouted loudly when entering the company and asked for Mr Ooi.

When told Ooi wasn’t in, Peh banged on the front desk, and then proceeded to lie down on the floor when asked to leave. They only left when the police came.

On 31 May 2019, they came back, and that was, as the viral video showed, with a funeral outfit.

As stated before, Peh was arrested and detained in the police’s Woodlands Division. This is when Peh resisted again when auxiliary police officers tried to transfer him to another cell: Peh rushed out and pushed an officer against the wall and then was restrained.

(That’s why he had one count of using criminal force on a public servant.)

Later, he was released on bail…

…only for him to do the same shit on 21 June 2019, as we had known previously.

Four similar harassment charges and one public nuisance charge were taken into account in Peh’s sentencing.

One had Peh described as riding a bicycle with incense paper and two poles each carrying a banner with Ooi’s face, near Ooi’s residences.

I really have to wonder: how the heck had Peh been in business for 20 years with me not knowing anything about it? Is this his usual method of debt collecting or is this his way of retirement?

Image: Giphy

So many more questions and so few answers.

For harassment, Peh could have been jailed for up to six months and fined up to $5,000.

You might be wondering then, about Koh, the other guy who wasn’t shown in the video but also did a similar thing. Koh was also charged with harassment and his case will be heard later in the month.