Under The Angsana Tree: Loanshark: Ah Long '大耳窿'

Update 18 Jun 2016: More youths arrested for loansharking activities

Lured by the promise of fast cash, more youths are getting arrested for unlicensed money lending harassment. Between January to April last year, 10 youths were arrested for unlicensed moneylending harassment.

However, that number has jumped to 61 in the same period this year. Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Mohamad Farhan Anas said a lot of youths were recruited mainly through social media sites like Facebook and online classifieds sites such as Gumtree.

ASP Farhan, who heads the police's unlicensed moneylending strike force, said: “This is the year where we really saw a jump. In some cases, the youths were recruited through social media.” None of the 61 youths arrested this year were debtors who became loanshark runners to pay off their debts.

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Woman trapped in burning Woodlands flat in moneylending harassment case

GONE: The walls of the living room and its contents were charred. -- PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

When Miss Janel Tay heard screams of "Help me! Help me!" in Mandarin at about 3.30am, she thought it was a robbery.

But when a burning smell wafted into her room a while later, the 18-year-old knew it was something else.

What she saw next as she rushed to the balcony at the back of the kitchen shocked her: Plumes of smoke billowing out of a balcony window diagonally across her flat and a woman gasping for air.

related: Loan Sharks

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Duo arrested for allegedly setting fire to Senja Road flat

Two men, aged 35 and 44, have been arrested for allegedly setting fire to a home at Block 632B Senja Road, the police said in a news release on Wednesday (Jun 1).

The incident came to light when a report on loanshark harassment was lodged on May 14, police said.

According to the police, the identities of the duo were established through ground enquiries and police cameras. They were subsequently arrested at Anchorvale Link on Tuesday

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118 arrested in four-day anti-loansharking operation

A total of 118 suspects between the ages of 21 and 71 have been arrested in a four-day islandwide anti-loansharking operation, police said in a press release on Thursday (Mar 24).

According to the police, simultaneous raids were conducted at multiple locations in Singapore from Mar 21 to 24. The suspects, comprising 79 men and 39 women, are suspected to be involved in loansharking activities.

Based on preliminary investigations, police said three suspects are believed to be runners who had assisted the loansharks in their businesses by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers, while another is believed to be a harasser who had carried out acts of loanshark-harassment by splashing paint and scrawling loanshark-related graffiti on walls.

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125 people suspected to be involved in loansharking activities arrested

The police have arrested 125 suspects allegedly involved in loansharking activities during a three-day operation that ended on Wednesday (Feb 24).

The suspects, 96 men and 29 women aged between 17 and 73, were arrested in simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Singapore.

The police said in a press release on Thursday that preliminary investigations found that five suspects are believed to be runners who had assisted loansharks by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers.

related:
Three arrested for involvement in unlicensed moneylending
11 arrested for suspected involvement in unlicensed moneylending syndicate
Four men arrested for helping unlicensed moneylending syndicates
Fall in unlicensed moneylending in Singapore

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146 Nabbed In Latest Anti-Loansharking Blitz

Police have arrested 146 suspects, aged between 19 and 72, in an anti-loansharking operation that took place between 20 and 23 April 2015. These 96 men and 50 women are suspected to be involved in loansharking activities.

During the 80-hour operation, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the six Police land divisions conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Singapore to effect the arrests. Preliminary investigations revealed that nine suspects are believed to be runners who had assisted the loansharks in their businesses by carrying out Automated Teller Machine (ATM) transfers or procuring ATM cards for the syndicates’ usage. Another three suspects are believed to be harassers who had carried out acts of loanshark-harassment by splashing paint and scrawling loanshark-related graffiti on walls.

Police also arrested two suspects who were believed to have provided false contact information when obtaining loans from loansharks. Investigations under the National Registration Act will be carried out against the suspects for failing to report the change of address. The remaining 132 suspects are believed to have opened bank accounts and given away their ATM cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharks to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending businesses. Investigations against all the suspects are ongoing.

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90 nabbed for suspected loansharking activities in four-day police operation

An island-wide police operation that took place over four days last week has resulted in the arrest of 90 suspects for their involvement in loansharking activities.

The 71 men and 19 women - aged between 18 and 67 - were nabbed by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department and six Police Land Divisions at multiple locations in Singapore during the operation from Mon to Thu (Oct 19-22).

In a Facebook post on Sunday (Oct 25) morning, the Singapore Police Force said preliminary investigations revealed that one of the suspects was believed to have been running an unlicensed moneylending business.

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118 arrested in islandwide anti-loanshark blitz

The police have arrested 118 suspects, aged between 18 and 68, in an islandwide anti-loansharking operation that took place from Jul 21 to 24.

In a statement released on Saturday, the police said that these 83 men and 35 women are suspected to be involved in loansharking activities.

During the operation, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and six Police Land Divisions conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations in Singapore.

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Inside the world of loan-shark lieutenants

THEY wear designer clothes, Rolex watches, drive around town in their flashy cars and splurge on nightclubs and lounges.

Welcome to the world of the "Ah Long Lieutenants", the "inner circle" of the loan-shark leaders in Singapore.

"If you look at the loan-shark organisation in terms of five levels, they are probably at the third or fourth level," said 66-year-old Lionel de Souza, an ex-police officer, in an interview with The New Paper on Sunday.

related: Harassed by loansharks

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Exposing new dirty tricks of ah longs

A new tactic being used by loan sharks to pressure debtors was exposed on Stomp this week

Now, instead of harassing just the debtors, the loan sharks also send hell notes threatening harm to their neighbours.

Stomper Zubin wrote in to Stomp after receiving hell notes in his letterbox, accompanied by a threatening letter warning that "something nasty" would happen to him if his neighbour did not pay up.

Zubin mused about how "Ah Longs" these days do not simply shout and threaten people with parangs.

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Loan sharks go for bolder tactics

LOAN-SHARK runners are getting bolder, veering away from merely splashing paint on doors and walls to, now, torching cars.

The latest incident in Choa Chu Kang where a car was set on fire in a multi-storey carpark on Oct 13 has raised concerns that their vindictive acts have moved beyond harassment into possibly inflicting injury. It is believed to be the first time loan-shark runners have committed such an act.

MPs told my paper that enforcement against loan-shark activities and the practice of installing closed-circuit TV cameras outside residential units are driving loan-shark syndicates to think of fresh tactics.

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New loanshark tactic: Splashing soya sauce, milk and liquid paper on ATMs

Seven men were charged in court on Friday over acts of alleged loanshark harassment, committed on behalf of two unlicensed moneylenders believed to be part of the same syndicate

Seven men, aged between 17 and 25, have been arrested by the police for allegedly vandalising Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) relating to loanshark harassment at Hougang, Serangoon and Marsiling, and residential units in Pasir Ris.

Four reports were lodged between July 26 and 30 regarding ATMs being splashed with unknown substances and paint. Debtors' notes were also discovered at the ATMs.

The first suspect's identity was subsequently established, and an operation carried out at Ubi Avenue 1 on July 30 at about 6.30pm.

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Excuse me are you a loan shark?

It pays to have a bad reputation - if you are a debt collector.

Being confused with illegal loan sharks by banging doors and asking loudly for the unit's occupants means debtors are more likely to pay up, said some debt collection companies. But it is a double-edged sword.

Last week, an advisory committee set up by the Law Ministry called for guidelines on acceptable debt collection practices after noting that harassment of borrowers made up the largest category of complaints received by the Registry of Moneylenders.

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Police arrest 127 for suspected loanshark activities

Police have arrested 127 suspects for their alleged involvement in loansharking activities. The 84 men and 43 women, aged 17 to 67, were arrested in an operation from Tuesday to Thursday.

Preliminary investigations showed that seven suspects are believed to be runners who had helped the loansharks by carrying out ATM transfers or getting ATM cards for the syndicates' use. Another three suspects are believed to be harassers who had splashed paint and scrawled loanshark-related graffiti on walls.

Police also arrested a suspect who was believed to have provided false contact information when obtaining loans from loansharks. The suspect will be investigated for not reporting the change of address.

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35-year-old man arrested for loanshark harrassments

Police have arrested a 35-year-old man on Feb 7 at Woodlands Checkpoint for suspected loanshark harassments at HDB estates.

In a statement today, the police said it had received reports of loanshark harassment writings outside residential units at various estates islandwide between Jan 1 and Feb 7.

Officers from Bedok Police Division seized surgical masks and markers pens upon arresting the suspect.

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3 young men arrested for suspected loanshark-related activities

Police have arrested three men, aged between 18 and 22 years, for their suspected involvement in loanshark harassment

In connection with the case of loanshark harassment that occurred at McNair Road on Nov 7, officers from Rochor Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) worked relentlessly and arrested another three men in the vicinity of Yishun North and Jurong West on Nov 12.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the five suspects might have committed at least 20 counts of loanshark harassment by splashing paint at debtors' units and scrawling loanshark-related graffiti at various locations.

In the second case, on Nov 13 at about 12.39am, acting on information received, Crime Strike Force officers from the Woodlands East and Bukit Batok NPC arrested a 22-year-old man in the vicinity of Boon Lay Way for his suspected involvement in loanshark harassment.

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19-year-old loanshark runner arrested

The loanshark also said that unless the reader paid up money, he would suffer the same fate
A 19-year-old male teenager was arrested on suspicion of being involved in loansharking activity.

Police were on their rounds on April 19 at around 6.15pm when they spotted the teenager behaving suspiciously near an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Clementi Ave 3.

They found several loanshark-related items when searching the teenager. Police seized one mobile phone containing suspected debtors' records, three ATM cards and five ATM transaction receipts as case exhibits.

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4 arrested for loanshark activities

Three men and a woman have been arrested for loanshark activities in two separate cases

In the first case, a 33-year-old female suspect was arrested in Queenstown yesterday at 4pm.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect had assisted loansharks to harass debtors by locking their gates with bicycle locks and leaving debtor's notes outside the units.

Pieces of paper with loanshark-related writing were found in her possession.

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Two loanshark runners aged 24 and 55 arrested

A 24-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman have been arrested by the police for their suspected involvement in loanshark activities.

Officers from Jurong Police Division first arrested a 55-year-old woman in the vicinity of Woodlands Square on Dec 29 at about 12.30pm after receiving information. Three Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and one hand phone were seized from her.

The woman is believed to be a debtor-turned-runner, assisting loan shark syndicates in their illegal money lending business by acquiring ATM cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) from other debtors.

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Loan shark runners are getting younger

IF THE 'O$P$' scrawls on the walls look more childish nowadays, it may be because they are the handiwork of loan shark runners barely out of their teens.

Those caught harassing debtors to pay up seem to be getting younger, with at least one as young as 12. Police nabbed 63 youth last year for doing the dirty work for loan sharks when debtors default on repayment. In 2007, 59 youth were arrested.

Police did not release figures for this year, but The Straits Times did its own count based on police releases. Of 124 loan sharks and runners arrested, 31 - or one in four - were aged 19 and below. The youngest was a 12-year-old boy caught last month as part of a group of five youth who were harassing debtors in Bedok and Ang Mo Kio.

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Stiffer punishment for culprits

THE war against loan sharks has intensified in the past few years.

In 2005, the law was changed to stiffen the jail terms and fines for loan sharks and those who harass debtors.

Reflecting the toughened stance, 505 people were arrested for loan shark activities last year, an almost 30 per cent rise compared to 390 in 2007. The police have also installed cameras at harassment-prone sites and released photos of the suspected harassers to the media, further turning up the heat. Two young men, aged 19 and 22, were caught in this way in May.

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Police arrest two women in separate loanshark cases

Police have arrested two women in two separate cases for suspected involvement in loansharking activities, they said in a statement.

The first woman, 43, was arrested on Sunday at 5.50pm in Jurong West Avenue 5. She is suspected to be a debtor-turned-assistor who gave away her ATM cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to facilitate unlicensed moneylending businesses.

The second woman, 35, was arrested on Monday at 9.20am in Serangoon Avenue 3. She is suspected to be a debtor-turned-runner who assisted in collecting ATM cards and PINs from other debtors and used them to carry out loansharking transactions. Investigations revealed that the woman also helped to send out debtor notes, verified borrowers' identity and checked on debtors' homes to check for signs of harassment.

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Trio arrested for loanshark harassment involving fire

Police have arrested two men and one woman, aged between 21 and 36, for their suspected involvement in a case of loanshark harassment.

According to a press statement, the police received a report on loanshark harassment involving fire at Blk 11 Toa Payoh Lorong 8 on Aug 13

Based on CCTV footage obtained, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the three suspects in an operation on Aug 27 at about 6.15 am. All three suspects will be charged in Court on Aug 28 for loanshark harassment.

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They'll take your women in exchange

If you cannot repay your debts to loan sharks, you can offer your wives or daughters in exchange.

This has been instituted by brazen loan sharks to recover their money from debtors.

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong said he had highlighted many cases of families being victimised by loan sharks.

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One-man operation with $30,000 to $50,000

ONE-man shows do exist among loan sharks, contrary to the impression that they run as well-oiled syndicates with many layers.

Lone operators dig into their own pockets for capital, suss out clients and harass debtors, and have sole dibs on the profits made.

Those in the business say all it takes is $30,000 to $50,000 to set up shop. No other barriers exist.

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Mystery men behind loan shark scourge

FACELESS financiers sit at the top of illegal money-lending syndicates. Save for one or two trusted lieutenants, no one in the syndicates knows their names.

These towkays could also be running legitimate businesses. They could be operating from abroad. And they never dirty their hands by getting involved in the money-lending operations themselves. For those grubby activities, they have their Ah Longs, who each have their own "stall" with various levels of subordinates - much like a big corporation.

This way, when the runners - the ones who deface walls and speak to borrowers - are nabbed, they have little information to provide the authorities.

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Ah Longs using students and aliens as cover

STUDENTS and foreign workers are being used by Ah Longs to register mobile numbers which are used to advertise their business, China Press reported.

The daily reported that the Home Ministry and police were unable to take action against the Ah Longs because their mobile numbers were registered using the identity of foreign workers or students.

"Some of them get paid for the registration procedure but some were unaware that their identities had been used," the daily reported.

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Police release photos of 30 loanshark suspects online

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.

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Woman wanted for harrassment

The police are looking for the female subject shown in the photos to assist with investigations into a case of loanshark harassment reported at Sembawang Close on Jan 1, 2015

The woman appears to be in her twenties with fair complexion. She is of medium build, and around 1.6 metres tall.

She was last seen wearing a black top, blue denim shorts and a pair of black slippers. She was also wearing a pair of spectacles with a black and white frame.

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TWO ARRESTED FOR ASSISTING THE LOANSHARKS

Police have arrested a 24-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman for their suspected involvement in loanshark activities.

On 29 December 2014 at about 12.30pm, acting on information received, officers from Jurong Police Division arrested a 55-year-old woman in the vicinity of Woodlands Square. Preliminary investigations indicates that the suspect is a debtor-turned-runner, believed to have assisted the loanshark syndicates to procure Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) from other debtors to facilitate the business of unlicensed moneylending. Upon her arrest, 3 ATM cards and 1 handphone were seized in connection to the case.

On the same day at about 12.46pm, through follow-up investigation, a 24-year-old man was also arrested in the vicinity of Woodlands Square. He is believed to have assisted the loanshark syndicate by opening a bank account and giving away his ATM card with the PIN to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending business.

related:
Three Persons Arrested For Suspected Loansharking Involvement
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Two Serial Loanshark Harassers Arrested
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Keeping loansharks at bay

At this year’s Anti-Unlicensed Money Lending (UML) Roadshow held on 31 August 2013 at the Woodlands Civic Centre, members of the public got to walk through an intriguing array of booths spread across the first level of the Centre.

One exhibit that was popular with the public was a row of boards painted as vandalised doors on one side while offering an explanatory the list of methods to counter and prevent loanshark activities on the other. Vandalism of debtors’ doors is a common loanshark harassment tactic.

The tagline for this year’s awareness campaign is “Combat Loansharks. Protect our Neighbourhood”, reflecting the Singapore Police Force’s hopes to encourage citizens to help in the fight against activities by loansharks and other crimes, such as theft.

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Keeping an eye on loansharks

For Nee Soon East Neighbourhood Watch Group, eight of the 35 unlicensed money lending-related arrests had the help of timely information from the group. Their efforts were featured in crime prevention programme Crime Watch's April episode.

Yet another group in Jurong East saw a few arrests made with the help of its members.

These two groups are part of the eight anti-loanshark related groups nominated and awarded for their efforts at the annual National Community Safety and Security Programme (CSSP) Awards.

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Loanshark: Ah Long '大耳窿'

Ah Long (derived from the Cantonese phrase '大耳窿' is a colloquial term for illegal loan sharks in Malaysia and Singapore. They lend money to people who are unable to obtain loans from banks or other legal sources, mostly targeting habitual gamblers. Often, they discreetly advertise by sticking notices, mostly on lamp posts and utility boxes around a neighbourhood, thus vandalising public property, as authorities have to then remove such advertisements. They charge very high interest rates (generally about 40% per month/fortnight)[citation needed] and frequently threaten violence (and administer it) towards those who fail to pay in time.