19-year-old woman attempted to rob a taxi driver at knifepoint along Rivervale Drive

Police have arrested a 19-year-old woman who is believed to have attempted to rob a taxi driver at knifepoint along Rivervale Drive. The arrest was made with the assistance of 3 public-spirited youths, who not only managed to detain the suspect, but also recovered the knife from the suspect.

At about 9.50 pm, the culprit boarded the taxi driven by the victim, a 55-year-old woman, along Edgefield Plains and directed her to proceed to Rivervale Mall. As the taxi was travelling along Rivervale Drive, the suspect took out a knife and demanded money from the victim. Out of fear, the victim abandoned the taxi and dashed away shouting for help.

Upon hearing the victim’s cries for help, three public-spirited youths who were in the vicinity, namely Mr Harry Tan Qing Hui, 18, Ms Janice Tay Jie Xin, 17, and Ms Yow Wei, 17, came to her aid. They ran towards the taxi and prevented the suspect from leaving it and called the Police. Subsequently, they managed to persuade the suspect to hand over the knife.

Shortly after, Police arrived at the scene and placed the culprit under arrest. The knife was seized.

The suspect will be charged in Court for an offence of Attempted Armed Robbery under Section 393 read with Section 397 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum of 7 years imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.

Man and two female youths arrested for robbing taxi in Cranewell Road

A male, aged 20, and two female youths aged 17 and 14, were arrested after committing armed robbing against a taxi driver along Cranewell Road this morning.

The victim, a 57 year-old taxi driver picked up a male and 2 female passengers along Tampines St 21 and was directed to proceed to Changi Beach Club. Before reaching the destination, one of the female subjects asked the victim to stop along Cranewell Road, saying that she needed to vomit. The 2 girls then alighted from the taxi while the victim waited for them. Moments later, the male passenger suddenly brandished a penknife blade and placed it on the victim’s neck. A struggle ensued and the 2 female subjects joined in to restraint the driver. In the midst of the struggle, the 3 subjects took away cash amounting to $179 from the victim’s shirt pocket and fled the scene on foot.

Upon receiving the information, officers from Bedok Police Division swiftly responded to the scene and commenced a systematic search for the culprits. Their diligent efforts paid off when the officers spotted the trio hiding in the bushes along Netheravon Road at about 6.40am. The 3 suspects were immediately placed under arrest within 4 hours after the incident was reported. The $179 in cash was recovered from the suspects. The penknife blade was also recovered at the scene.

The 3 suspects will has been charged in Court for the offence of Armed Robbery with Hurt under Section 394 read with Section 397 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum punishment of 20 years imprisonment and not less than 12 strokes of the cane.

Singapore Police on the lookout for a man who offers to help and steal from Changi Airport travellers

THE police are on the lookout for a man who offers to help Changi Airport travellers with checking in their luggage, only to steal from them or make off with their bags.

The police are on the lookout for a man who offers to help

Changi Airport travellers with checking in their luggage, only

to steal from them or make off with their bags.

 

The man, believed to have been involved in at least two such instances so far, struck in April, once each in Terminals 1 and 2.

The police, releasing a statement and a photograph of the suspect on Saturday, said the man has been linked to at least two cases of cheating-related offences, in which he would approach unsuspecting victims on the pretext of helping them check in their overweight luggage.

The Straits Times understands that he may be a Filipino who homes in on fellow Filipinos under the guise of helping his countrymen.

In one case, he made off with a pouch containing more than $1,500; in the other case, he took a suitcase with personal items valued at $300.

Investigations were launched after reports were made.

Anyone with information on this man is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

HDB/Flat Rental Scam–Police are appealing for information to assist with investigations into a series of flat rental scams

Police are looking for the man shown in the picture to assist with investigations into a series of flat rental scams reported at Blk 1 Lor Lew Lian #06-24.

From 31 Mar 2011 , at least 13 cases of flat rental scams have been reported at Blk 1 Lor Lew Lian #06-24. In all the cases, victims had responded to flat rental advertisements placed in the Chinese newspapers between 4 and 29 Mar 2011 . The suspect would arrange with victims to view the unit, and would collect money ($500 - $4800) from them as deposit for the rental of the unit. The victims were told to move into the unit between 3 and 7 Apr 2011. After collecting the money, the suspect would then become evasive and remain uncontactable.

Police believe that this man in the picture may be able to assist in investigations. His name is Chua Thiam Lye and the description of the man is as follows:

a)	Gender	:	Male Chinese in his 40s
b)	Height	:	About 1.7m tall
c)	Hair	:	Short and black
d)	Build	:	Plump
e)	Other	:	A mole below his lips

Anyone with information on this man is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-2550000. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Crime Prevention Tips – Flat Rental Scam
a)	Seek service from an established estate agent;
b)	Conduct a check against the agent and the company before signing any agreement;
c)	Observe due diligence and carry out verifications of any documents relating to the property;
d)	Visit the flat you wish to rent and ensure that the person you are dealing with is the rightful flat owner. Request documentary proof of flat ownership that bears the flat owner’s name.
e)	Request the flat owner to show you a copy of the approval letter from HDB if you are renting the whole flat
f)	Be careful if asked for an advance payment and do not pay large sums in cash. As proof of payment, you should pay the rental deposit and rents by cheque; and
g)	Do a check with the company to ensure that the estate agent is indeed with the company. If in doubt, request to sign the documents and hand over the deposit at the office.

Floating Body Found In Luggage Trolley Bag At Sentosa - Murder Suspect Arrested

Swift action by Police has resulted in the arrest of a 44-year-old Chinese Singaporean man in connection with the suspected murder of a 28-year-old Chinese Singaporean man whose body was found in a luggage trolley bag at Sentosa on the morning of 16 April 2011.

On 16 April 2011, at about 8.40am, Police received a call informing us that a luggage trolley bag containing a decomposed male body was found floating near the shore in the waters off the Sentosa Gate construction site. The deceased was established to be Wong Teck Siong, a 28-year-old male Singaporean.

Police immediately commenced intensive investigations into the case. Despite the condition of the body, the officers from the Special Investigation Section of the Criminal Investigation Department managed to establish the identity of the suspect and swiftly placed him under arrest this afternoon.

Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hoong Wee Teck commended his officers for their perseverance, resourcefulness and excellent investigative skills that led to the successful arrest. AC Hoong said, “Murder is a capital offence. The Police will spare no effort to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are brought swiftly to justice. I wish to commend the officers for their skill and perseverance in securing the necessary evidence and promptly arresting the suspect despite the challenges posed by the decomposed state of the body. ”

The suspect will be charged in Court on 18 April 2011 for the offence of Murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries the death penalty.

Singapore Police busted syndicate distributing pirated games and providing illegal modification services

Police have arrested seven men, aged between 19 and 34, who are believed to be members of a syndicate involved in distributing pirated games and providing illegal modification services which allowed pirated games to be played on modified game consoles.

In a 13-hour long operation which commenced on 13 April 2011 at about 1pm, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) raided three retail shops located in Jurong West, Taman Jurong and Boon Keng. During the raid, modified game consoles from Nintendo DS, Wii and Sony PlayStation Portables, pirated games, counterfeit accessories, laptops, hard disks, and memory sticks containing circumvention programs used to modify the game consoles were found in all three retail shops. The estimated street value of the infringing items was close to S$36,000/-.

The successful operation came after several months of intensive intelligence operations, where CID officers established the identities of the suspects who were members of a local syndicate that provided the illegal modification services for game consoles. The syndicate’s retail shops had legitimate shop-fronts with typical counters, racks and shelving to display retail goods. However, behind partitioned walls, illegal modifications to game consoles were carried out and pirated games were downloaded.

Head of the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the CID , Superintendent of Police Loh Kah Wai, said, "Police take a serious view of such intellectual property rights violations, and will continue to clamp down on syndicates involved in the modification of game consoles and the sale of counterfeit games in Singapore. Circumvention of built-in anti-piracy controls carries a heavy fine and imprisonment, and offenders will be prosecuted in Court.”

Persons found guilty of providing counterfeit products shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 for the article or for each article in respect of which the offence was committed or $100,000, whichever is lower, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both.

Thief responsible for house break-ins around Punggol Drive nabbed

Police have arrested a 38-year-old man who is believed to be responsible for a series of break-ins at newly-completed units located along Punggol Drive.

This what we usually call “akyat bahay”. 

The term used to refer to notorious criminal gangs who rob houses by scaling through the roof, window, or any part of the house that allows access inside it.

Also refers to the manner of stealing by surreptitiously entering a victim’s house by climbing its walls to gain access to a window or force an opening through the roof or the wall.

Between January 2011 and April 2011, a number of break-ins were reported at newly completed units which were undergoing final renovation works along Punggol Drive. The culprit would usually target units that were secured by combination padlocks, and break in to steal newly purchased electrical appliances such as televisions, media entertainment systems and other household and personal items of value.

Through extensive enquiries and follow up investigation, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish the identity of the suspect. On 8 April 2011 at about 1.30pm , the suspect was arrested at the vicinity of Woodlands Ring Road. Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect is believed to have broken into at least seven units and had stolen items worth a total of about S$30,000/-.

The suspect will be charged in Court on 9 April 2011 for Housebreaking and Theft by Night under Section 457 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum of 14 years' imprisonment.

Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division HQ, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Hsu Sin Yun advised home owners to ensure that their units are properly secured with strong locks.

26-year-old pickpocket arrested in Harbourfront Centre

A SERIAL thief who stole from his victims by slitting their pockets with a razor blade, was caught on Monday.

The 26-year-old man struck mostly in the Ang Mo Kio area, targeting those who were napping in void decks or pavilions within the estate. Using a razor blade, he slit open their pockets and made off with the victims' valuables.

Several of such cases had been reported in February and April.

However, the man was arrested at Harbourfront Centre on Monday, and is currently suspected of being responsible for nine more similar cases in Ang Mo Kio.

He will be charged in court on Wednesday.

Handbag snatcher on a stolen motorcycle arrested

Not even Singapore is safe with this kind of petty crime activity anymore…..

Singapore Police have arrested a 44-year-old man who is believed to be involved in a case of snatch theft using a stolen motorcycle.

A 32-year-old woman was walking along Akyab Road when a man riding a motorcycle suddenly snatched her handbag and sped off.

Through extensive enquiries and follow-up investigation, officers from Tanglin Police Division managed to establish the suspect’s identity and arrested him at his home on 4 April 2011 . Preliminary investigations reveal that the suspect had stolen the motorcycle that was used to commit the snatch theft. The victim’s handbag and the stolen motorcycle were successfully recovered. The suspect is believed to be involved in other similar cases and police investigations are ongoing.

The suspect will be charged in Court on 6 April 2011 for the offences of Snatch Theft and Theft of a Motor Vehicle under Section 356 and Section 379A of the Penal Code respectively. If convicted, the suspect faces a jail term of up to 7 years and caning.

Commander of Tanglin Police Division, Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police Koh Yak Leng advised motorcycle owners to park at well-lit areas, lock their motorcycle before leaving even if it is for a short while, and secure their motorcycle using additional strong locks.

Three Pinoys charge for stealing jewelries in Valuemax Retail Pawnshop

Well, another bad news for the Filipino community in Singapore…..

Valuemax Pawnshop Pte Ltd, 513 Tampines Centra

Police have cracked a jewellery theft syndicate comprising 3 male Filipinos aged 54 to 63 years-old. The trio is believed to have stolen jewellery worth a total of about $120, 000/- from several goldsmith shops and pawnshops.

They are: Balajadia Porfirio Leabres, 54; Valbarez Fidel Iv Martelino, 56 and Banal Eduardo Cruz, 62.

It is believed the trio committed the offence at Valuemax pawnshop at Block 513, Tampines Central 1 at around 3pm on March 26.

In these cases, the trio targeted the shops when they were crowded during the peak hours. The suspects took turns to ask counter staff to show them various pieces of jewellery. While the staff was distracted, one suspect would use his body to block the view of the staff while another took the opportunity to steal jewellery from unsecured display cabinets unnoticed. After committing the theft, the suspects would offer excuses and leave quickly.

Through extensive follow-up investigation, officers from Bedok Police Division managed to establish the identity of the suspects. On 4 April 2011 at about 2pm, Police mounted an operation and arrested the suspects in the vicinity of Geylang Road. Several pieces of jewellery, which are believed to be stolen, were successfully recovered. Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects are involved in a total of 5 similar cases.

The suspects will be charged in Court for Theft in Dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code, which is punishable with a jail term of up to 7 years and a fine.

Singapore jailed three men for using counterfeit money

Three men are jailed for using counterfeit money printed from a home printer.

Three men were jailed for using counterfeit currencies. Narindran Sangara Banoi, 31, who made the Singapore currency notes and passed them to his accomplices, received the highest sentence of eight years. He pleaded guilty to 15 of 55 charges.

Jegathesan Subramaniam, 31, who had 10 charges for conspiring with Narindran in August 2010 on two occasions to use a fake S$50 note to pay for cab fares, was jailed for three years.

A third man, Ramer Rethina Thevar Ramanathan, 42, was sentenced to two years and three months jail after pleading guilty to using fake S$50 notes to pay for a bar of chocolate and a pair of sunglasses.

A fourth accomplice, Segar Ramiah, 37, had his plea rejected earlier. A pre-trial conference date is set for Feb 24.

Local media reported that Narindran used his colour printer to scan and print Singapore currency notes in denominations of S$2, S$10 and S$50, which had a total worth of S$3,970 as he was facing financial difficulties.

He then told Jagethesan, Ramer and his relative, Segar, about the counterfeit notes.

The fake notes were to be used by either himself, or with any one of his accomplices. He also supplied the other three with fake currency for their own use.

They could have been jailed for up to 20 years and fined on each charged.

26 year-old man arrrested in a series of online cheating scams.

Police have arrested a 26 year-old man who is believed to be involved in a series of online cheating scams.

On 22 March 2011 , a 34 year-old man lodged a Police report on his encounter with an online scammer. According to the complainant, he had responded to an online advertisement and befriended a girl. Shortly after, the complainant received an SMS from an unknown person claiming that he was the father of the said girl. The unknown person then accused the complainant of ‘sexually grooming’ his daughter who was underaged and threatened to report the matter to the Police unless the complainant paid him a sum of $3200. Sensing that something was amiss, the complainant decided to report the matter to the Police.

Through extensive follow-up investigations, officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division managed to establish the suspect’s identity and arrested him at Changi Airport on 24 March 2011 at about 11.00 pm  as he was about to leave Singapore. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is believed to be involved in at least 7 other similar cases where victims were cheated of more than $9,000 in total.

The suspect will be charged in the Court on 26 March 2011 for Cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. If convicted, he faces a jail term of up to 10 years and shall also be liable to be fine.

Mobile phone snatcher caught in Tampines

Singapore Police have arrested a 27 year-old man who is believed to have snatched a woman’s mobile phone at Tampines St 21 this morning.

On 25 March 2011 at about 8.00am, a 27 year-old woman was walking along the void deck of Blk 245 Tampines St 21 when an unknown man came from behind and snatched away her mobile phone which she was holding in her hand.

Following the report, officers from Bedok Police Division conducted follow-up investigations and swiftly established the identity of the suspect. Within 3 hours, the suspect was arrested at a budget hotel in Geylang. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is also believed to be involved in another similar case of snatch theft.

The suspect will be charged in court on 26 March 2011 for snatch theft under Section 356 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which carries a maximum punishment of 7 years imprisonment and caning.

Singapore Police: Appeal for information to a theft at a supermarket in Changi Airport Terminal 1

Have you seen this man?

Singapore Police are looking for the man shown in the photo to assist with investigations into a case of theft at a supermarket located at Changi Airport Terminal 1 on 19 Jan 2011 .

The man is believed to be a male Chinese in his late 30s and was last seen wearing a striped polo-shirt. He was also seen carrying a black haversack and a green paper bag.

Anyone with information on the man is requested to call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Three woman behind bars for shoplifting in Mustafa Shopping Centre

Image via Wikipedia

Three women were jailed on Tuesday for shoplifting at Mustafa Centre in Little India.

Mustafa Centre is Singapore's only 24-hour shopping mall, which is located on Syed Alwi Road in Little India.

Two of them, 32-year-old Hawa Nachia A Muhammad Yassin and her sister-in-law, 35-year-old Najmudeen Saharjath, will each have to spend 12 weeks behind bars.

The housewives had worked together with an alleged accomplice, Najmudeen's husband Mohammed Riaz, to steal more than $$2,500 worth of clothes, stationery and toiletries from the 24-hour store on Jan 15.

According to court documents, the trio arrived at the store at around 8.45pm that day and stuffed the items into Mustafa Centre shopping bags which they found discarded on the premises.

But they were stopped in their tracks by the store's security as they were heading for the exits.

The two women, who were unrepresented, pleaded for leniency, saying they had to care for their children.

Both of them appeared distraught when District Judge Roy Neighbour handed them their sentence.

Muhammad Riaz, a 40-year-old cab driver, hasn't been dealt with. He will be back in court on Thursday next week.

In another case, a 35-year-old retail assistant, Siti Farah Sheik Zainal Abdin, was sentenced to a day's jail and fined $2,000 after stealing more than $300 worth of items from the store.

She was caught when an anti-theft alarm was triggered.

Remaining suspect in conspiracy to cheat Standard Chartered Bank convicted to 18 months

SINGAPORE - A Filipino service engineer was sentenced yesterday to 18 months' jail for being part of a conspiracy to cheat Standard Chartered Bank of S$317,100.

Mark Robert Fajilan Landicho (picture), 28, had worked with a syndicate that illegally helped foreigners obtain unsecured credit facilities from the bank even though they were not eligible.

The group did so by forging its clients' pay slips, inflating the salaries so that their annual pay would appear to meet the bank's minimum income requirement.

According to court documents, Landicho had worked with two former employees from telemarketing company Touch & Tech to cheat the bank between July and October 2009.

One of them, 26-year-old Charon Legaspi Dimpas, a fellow Filipino, who used to be one of the firm's direct sales agents, was sentenced to 45 months' behind bars after admitting last November that she was part of the scam.

Landicho was first referred to Dimpas in June 2009 as he wanted to apply for credit facilities even though his salary did not meet the minimum requirement.

His application was approved after she doctored his pay slips.

Soon after, Landicho started to help the syndicate by advertising its illicit services on PinoySG. Landicho earned S$75 for each successful application

Kallang crime slashings: 2 jailed for gang robbery

Cleaner Sylvester Beragok, 26, was sentenced to 6 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

 

TWO of the seven men arrested for the Kallang slashings were sentenced to six years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane on Thursday for gang robbery.

Cleaner Sylvester Beragok, 26, and labourer Landa Sulai, 28, both from Sarawak, had originally claimed trial, together with Peter Usit Musa, 22, to the charges.

Sylvester and Landa changed their pleas to guilty, after the court had ruled that their statements to the police were made voluntarily. Peter, however, maintains his innocence and his trial is ongoing.

Sylvester and Landa admitted robbing Chinese national Wang Jiu Sheng, 47, of his $230 mobile phone when one or more of the duo's accomplices had used a parang. The attack took place at a grass path beside the pavement under the MRT track near Lorong 17 Geylang on May 28 2010.

Three of their accomplices, Micheal Garing, 22, Hairee Landak, 21, and Tony Imba, 32, are facing a murder charge each and the matter is still at pre-trial conference stage. In the gang robbery, Mr Wang suffered a deep cut of four fingers on his left hand.

Last October, another East Malaysian, Shahman Milak, 21, was given two years and ordered to be given six strokes of the cane for attempted robbery. The duo could have been jailed for up to 20 years and caned.

Don’t be a stupid by saying you’re a terrorist at Singapore Dhoby Ghaut MRT

A MAN who caused alarm to an SMRT customer service officer by saying that he was a terrorist, was fined $1,000 on Thursday.

Kevin Teo Kok Leong alias Muhammad Riduan Teo, 33, was fined $1,000 for saying that he was a terrorist at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Interchange.

 

Kevin Teo Kok Leong alias Muhammad Riduan Teo, 33, a mechanic, admitted to using threatening words at Mr Suasni Samuri, 43, at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Interchange on Nov 26, 2010.

   

A Community Court heard that Mr Suasni was on duty when he saw Teo entering the train platform without tapping his ez-Link card.

Mr Suasni gave chase and managed to stop Teo, who refused to hand over his ez-Link card to be checked.

While Mr Suasni was trying to solicit information from Teo, Teo said: 'You know who I am, I am a terrorist, you know.'

Teo repeated the words when asked what he had said earlier. He could have been fined up to $5,000 for the offence.

Singapore Police advises public on variations of Phone Scams

Scammers are coming up with new and innovative phone scams to convince victims to part with their money. There are many variations to phone scams. The most common ones are the Lottery Scam, Kidnap Scam and Impersonation Scam.

Lottery Scams!
Tricksters may call from overseas, email or SMS the recipients, informing them that they have won prize money in a foreign lottery. The tricksters would request for an advance payment in order to process the claims for prizes.

Kidnap Scams!
Tricksters would claim that the recipient's loved one had been kidnapped and demand that a ransom be transferred to specific bank account. These fake threats are usually accompanied by sounds of cries for help in the background.

Impersonation Scams!
Tricksters would impersonate law enforcement officials, advising victims to remit or transfer money to designated bank accounts in order to exonerate themselves from alleged crimes. These common allegations include failure to appear in court in relation to one's involvement in money laundering and unlicensed money lending cases.

1. The tricksters will impersonate foreign government officials such as the Interpol, Taiwan Police, China Police, etc.
2. The tricksters will ask the victims for their personal information and bank account details for verification purposes. In some occasions, they were able to recite the victim's personal information or bank account number.
3. The tricksters will send pre-recorded voice messages to the victims. The victims will need to press a number before their calls are answered by an operator. To lend credibility to their scams, the number that appeared on the recipient's phone reflects those belonging to local authorities such as:
    
   a. Supreme Court Quality Service Manager/ Enquiry Hotline: 63381034,
   b. CID Hotline: 64350000, or
   c. Police Emergency Hotline: 999
    
   This is commonly known as "Caller ID Spoofing", where advances in technology enable callers to lie about their identity through false numbers.

CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES

Lottery Scam

• Ignore notifications of a win in a lottery or lucky draw when you had not purchased any lottery ticket or participated in any lucky draw.
• Do not make any advance payment to claim any prize money. Winning a lucky draw or lottery does not require you to make any advance payment.
• Do not entertain such SMSes and calls.
• Be wary of get-rich-quick offers. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is probably a scam.

Kidnap Scam

• If the public receive kidnap scam calls, they should remain calm and try to contact their next-of-kin immediately. Should repeated attempts at contacting their loved-ones fail, they should then contact the police.
• In addition, the public could pose questions to the kidnapper to verify the identity of the purportedly kidnapped victim, for instance, the number of family members staying together or whether there are pets in the house, to help them establish if the call is indeed genuine.

Impersonation Scam

• Ignore any notification calls from unknown persons who claim to be government officials. All notices to attend court hearing would be notified by post or accompanied by an official letter.
• Police or court officials would not ask anyone who is in connection with a criminal case to make any transfer of funds to unknown bank accounts.
• Do not give your personal details such as NRIC and bank account numbers to anyone over telephone or e-mail.

Those who receive such calls may wish to pass on such information to the Police at a Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Filipina Domestic Workers And Singaporean Employers Arrested For Operating Unlicensed Moneylending Business

Acting on information received, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department conducted an operation on 11 January 2011 and busted two separate groups believed to be involved in issuing unlicensed loans to foreign domestic workers. A total of five persons aged between 28 and 69 years old were arrested in the operation.

The first group involved three persons, namely a 69-year-old male Singaporean and two Filipina domestic workers aged 28 and 36 years respectively. This group is suspected to have issued loans to more than 200 other Filipina domestic workers since June 2010.

The second group involved a 47-year-old female Singaporean and a 29-year old Filipina domestic worker. They are believed to have issued loans to about 40 domestic workers since January 2009.

The three Filipina suspects and the female Singaporean will be charged in Court on 13 January 2011 for offences under the Moneylenders Act. Investigations against the remaining suspect are still ongoing.

Under the Moneylenders Act, persons found guilty of operating or assisting in the operating of a loansharking business may be fined not less than $30,000 and up to $300,000 with mandatory imprisonment of up to four years and shall be liable for caning of up to six strokes.

Source: PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE