168 People, Including a 14YO, Investigated for Suspected Involvement in Unlicensed Moneylending

Most 14-year-olds would spend their time at home doing their schoolwork while occasionally watching shows online.

And by that, I mean using TikTok and watching shows most of the time and occasionally rolling their eyes whenever their parents open their door and make a completely reasonable request.

Whatever they’re doing, it’d certainly be within the bounds of the law, right?

Well, not always.

168 People Investigated for Suspected Involvement in Unlicensed Moneylending, Including Offenders Aged 14

Between 20 Sep and 1 Oct, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and the seven police land divisions carried out simultaneous raids all over the country.

At the end of the two-week operation, 168 people were arrested for their suspected involvement in unlicensed moneylending.

The offenders were aged between 14 and 72, meaning there were some teenagers who were apprehended for alleged unlicensed moneylending.

Okay, maybe TikTok isn’t so bad. Please go back to that.

Of the 168 alleged offenders, 14 are accused of conducting harassment activities at debtors’ residences.

34 are believed to be runners who assisted in unlicensed moneylending by carrying out ATM transfers.

One suspect is said to have provided false contact information to an unlicensed moneylender, which led to an innocent victim’s residence getting harrassed.

You Can Get Jailed If You Allow Your Bank Accounts to Be Used for Unlicensed Moneylending Activities

Here’s something you may not have known: simply letting your ATM card be used by a loan shark for his business can land you behind bars.

The remaining 119 people who were arrested in the two-week operation were apprehended for this very offence; they are believed to have opened bank accounts and provided their ATM cards, and personal and banking information to unlicensed moneylenders to facilitate their businesses.

See, under the Moneylenders Act, if you allow your bank account, ATM card, or Internet banking token to be used to facilitate activities of an unlicensed moneylender, you are presumed to have assisted in the business’ operations.

That’s would not be good.

Even if you’re a first-time offender, you could be jailed for up to four years and receive up to six strokes of caning. If you manage to escape jail time, you could still be fined between S$30,000 and S$300,000.

The offence of acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender, or committing or attempting to commit any acts of harassment carries a fine of between S$5,000 and S$500,000, or a jail term of up to five years and six strokes of the cane.

So, if you’re a teenager and a loan shark asks you to join their business, say no, and make videos on TikTok instead.

After all, it’s certainly the lesser of two evils (though not by much).

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