HARASSMENT BY LOANSHARKS

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HARASSMENT BY LOANSHARKS: * * *

52.

Mrs Josephine Teo asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) how many cases of harassment by loansharks were reported annually in the last three years; and (b) what is the average time taken to resolve such cases.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: There were 8,174, 9,912 and 9,364 cases of loanshark-related harassment reported in 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. This includes repeat reports made by a household unit and reports made by several household units of the same incident.

As every case is different, Police does not calculate the average time taken to solve loanshark-related cases. The time taken varies depending on the circumstances and

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complexity of the case. There are cases, though not often, where Police officers arrest the offender when the crime is being committed. In other cases, there are few leads and more time is required. The lack of cooperation of borrowers and the involvement of syndicates, sometimes with directing elements based abroad, adds to the complexity of investigations. Such cases will take much longer to solve.

In summary, by their nature, loanshark harassment cases are not easy to solve. Unless the perpetrators are caught in the act, there are often few leads that Police can follow-up on. This is especially so in situations involving innocent victims of harassment who have no idea who the loansharks are.

Nevertheless, Police assures me that it will press on resolutely to counter this scourge that poses a threat to Singaporeans' sense of safety and security. We continue to monitor the situation closely. Indeed, since 2005, we upped the ante by introducing several tough measures, encouraged community vigilance and enhanced security features in residential areas. Whilst these measures have ensured that the situation does not get worse, the number of harassment cases is still high and should be reduced.

Some loanshark runners even harass, vandalise and intimidate home-owners who are unconnected to the borrower or purported borrower, other than being a neighbour. The situation is exacerbated by borrowers being recruited to join loanshark syndicates as runners to discharge their debts.

Loansharks are constantly evolving their modus operandi to evade Police detection. Transaction risks and costs to the syndicates have been reduced over the years, as the technology for communication and money transfers has proliferated. Syndicates can relocate their operations overseas to evade detection and arrests but continue to supervise local operations through the Internet and Internet telephony.

But let me assure Mrs Josephine Teo that we will continue to put pressure on loanshark syndicates through painstaking investigation and by working with the community to enhance security vigilance on the ground. As I had indicated in the Committee of Supply debate earlier this year, we are also studying additional measures which we will not hesitate to implement, if necessary, to counter this scourge.