SINGAPORE - The police have arrested two men and two women, aged between 18 and 36, for their suspected involvement in loansharking activities.

The police were alerted on May 2 that the main door of a residential unit in Woodlands Avenue 1 had been splashed with paint and loanshark graffiti found on the wall. Officers from Jurong Police Division took footage from police cameras installed in the area and launched a public appeal for information on the suspects. They successfully arrested two suspects on May 22 at about 3pm at Bedok North Street 3.

Preliminary investigations showed that both suspects had helped loanshark syndicates to carry out series of loanshark harassment in Tampines and Woodlands HDB estates. Both were believed to be involved in at least five such cases.

In a separate case, officers from Bedok Police Division also arrested a 36-year-old suspect and a 26-year-old suspect for loanshark-related activities, with the help of police cameras.

All four suspects were charged in court on Saturday for loanshark harassment. Under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010), first-time offenders found guilty of loanshark harassment are fined a maximum of $50,000 with mandatory imprisonment of up to five years and mandatory caning of up to six strokes.