2 women charged over loan shark harassment revisit crime scene

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ST VIDEO: AW CHENG WEI
Raslindawati Abdul Rashid and Joanna Michell Tan Jiamei (back) were taken back to the crime scene at Block 271B in Sengkang Central where they had allegedly set fire to a Housing Board unit. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG

SINGAPORE - Two women who allegedly set fire to a Housing Board flat in a loan shark harassment case were brought back to the crime scene by the police on Tuesday afternoon (Jan 9).

Raslindawati Abdul Rashid, 35, and Joanna Michell Tan Jiamei, 28, were seen arriving at Block 271B in Sengkang Central with hand and leg restraints, accompanied by police officers.

They were first taken to the sixth floor where they had allegedly checked out the layout on Jan 4, the day that the fire took place.

It is believed that Raslindawati and Tan climbed up to the 12th floor that day where their target resides. When they arrived at the unit, Raslindawati was believed to have locked up the gate and poured kerosene at the entrance, while Tan was in charge of filming the process.

After setting fire to the unit, they allegedly walked down the stairs to the eighth floor and took the lift to the ground level.

In a statement on Jan 5, police said they were alerted to a case about loan shark harassment at the unit at 5.48am.

Using images from police cameras in their investigations, the police established the identities of the perpetrators.

Tan was arrested in Kampong Java, followed by Raslindawati in Champions Way.

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Both women had been charged in court on Jan 6 under the Moneylenders Act.

First-time offenders convicted for loan shark harassment will be fined between $5,000 and $50,000. They can also be jailed for up to five years and receive up to six strokes of the cane.

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