SINGAPORE: Over nearly two years, a Singaporean man ran an illegal moneylending business with 19 foreign domestic workers as clients, earning S$1,000 to S$1,500 per month.
The court heard that he took over the illegal business from a Filipino acquaintance in July 2017, before roping in his Filipina maid girlfriend to help him.His girlfriend, Shirley Cansino Eustaquio, helped to pass loans to debtors and collect repayments and was not paid for her role. She was given eight weeks' jail and a S$60,000 fine last year and repatriated to the Philippines.
He charged an interest rate of 20 per cent per month and later changed the terms of his loan so that repayments of the loan and interest were made by monthly instalments and subject to a late payment fee.He dealt with at least 10 debtors, all of whom were Filipino domestic workers, and operated primarily in Orchard Road at places where they frequented, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Pavithra Ramkumar.
Another maid took up four loans from Tan totalling S$1,900 as she supported five people on a monthly salary of S$700. She asked for 30 months' jail and a fine of S$240,000, saying that Tan targeted a vulnerable class of workers - maids who drew monthly salaries of S$600 to S$800. Tan's lawyer said the maids should have gone to banks for loans, and said Tan is the sole care provider for his wheelchair-bound mother. He added that it was"a bit far-fetched" to say it was a syndicated operation.