Updated: 08/09/2012 04:27 | By Channel NewsAsia

47 arrested for suspected involvement in loansharking activities

SINGAPORE : Forty—seven people have been arrested for suspected involvement in loansharking activities.

The suspects — 23 men and 24 women — are aged between 18 and 66.

Three suspects had opened bank accounts and given away their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) to loansharking syndicates to facilitate their unlicensed moneylending businesses.

All the suspects are believed to be borrowers or guarantors who agreed to assist the loansharks either for monetary gains or to offset their debts.

First—time offenders found guilty of assisting in the business of unlicensed moneylending may be fined up to S$300,000, be jailed for up to four years, and be given six strokes of the cane.

Police said they will continue to weed out this critical link in the loansharking chain which enables the unlicensed moneylenders to collect payment electronically and anonymously.

— CNA/ms