Man admits to being part of illegal moneylending syndicate, earning $500k in profit

SINGAPORE – A Singaporean has admitted that he was a member of a transnational unlicensed moneylending syndicate, earning around $500,000 in profit from 2006 to 2019.

On June 12, Ng Kwong Seng, 44, pleaded guilty to seven counts of carrying on the business of unlicensed moneylending.

The group primarily operated in China but extended loans to debtors in Singapore.

Ng, who was involved with the syndicate for 13 years, had issued loans with interest rates of 20 per cent.

He was entitled to up to 20 per cent share of the profit from July 2008 to end-2014, and up to 60 per cent share from end-2014 to 2019.

Ng, who was based in China, was caught at Changi Airport in November 2023.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh told the court: “Investigations revealed that the accused did not conduct harassment to the debtors.

“This was done by ‘Xiao Fu’, who would arrange for the runners or debtors in Singapore to conduct harassments of other debtors, which included sending letters, splashing paint on the unit, writing on the wall and locking of gates.”

It all started in mid-2006 when Ng received a call from a former colleague who recommended him a job as an office support staff member in China, with a monthly salary of $2,000.

Ng accepted the offer and flew to China to work for the unlicensed moneylending syndicate, in which someone named Ah Ren was the financier.

DPP Koh said that Ah Ren was also the “tua towkay”, or “big boss” in Hokkien, while another person, known only as Lak Ya, was a “towkay”, or “boss”, in the group.

DPP Koh said: “A towkay was responsible for managing the operations of various ‘ah longs’ or unlicensed moneylenders. At the same time, there were several other towkays working for Ah Ren.

“(Ng) thus started working for the syndicate in an apartment in Shenzhen, China, since mid-2006 by helping an ‘ah long’ known as Freddi to solicit for debtors from Singapore.”

Ng was given a database of contact numbers, and he would call them to solicit for potential debtors.

Of those interested in taking loans, he would indicate accordingly in an Excel spreadsheet for Freddi to follow up on and issue the loans.

Ng, who made around 150 calls a day, worked from 11am to 4pm daily.

In January 2008, he was promoted to assistant ah long and given the extra role of issuing loans of up to $2,000 to debtors living in Singapore.

Six months later, Ng was promoted to be an ah long after Freddi left the syndicate for unknown reasons.

Over the years, Ng rose up the ranks and, in late 2014, Ah Ren promoted him to be a towkay after Lak Ya left the syndicate.

As a towkay, Ng drew between $10,000 and $12,000 in profit every month.

He stopped the moneylending business in 2019 after Ah Ren was arrested. Court documents did not disclose if the latter was caught in Singapore or overseas.

After that, Ng remained in China and worked as a sales manager for a liquor company until June 2023.

He then planned to take his two daughters – aged six and 11 – to Singapore to continue with their education, but was arrested on Nov 1, 2023, at Changi Airport.

He will be sentenced on June 21.