‘What’s owed must be paid’: English teacher charged over helping loan shark commit harassment

SINGAPORE – A secondary school teacher allegedly conspired with a man to act on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender and harass a resident of a flat over an unpaid loan.

On Nov 27, Geraldine Quek Yi Ling, 41, was charged with acting on behalf of the loan shark identified in court documents as “Travis Heng”.

The Singaporean teacher was ordered to be remanded at the Central Police Division and her case has been adjourned to Dec 4.

According to court documents, she allegedly conspired with Malaysian Mohd Hairul Nizam Mohd Johar, 40, to commit the offence on Nov 19.

He was earlier charged with the offence, but the charge was withdrawn on Nov 28.

Hairul had been accused of hanging a paper bag containing pork and a note on the handle of a gate to a Housing Board flat in Dawson Road near Alexandra Road.

The note was addressed to a man with a Muslim-sounding name, who had purportedly failed to repay a loan. The note stated: “(What’s) owed must be paid, call me before I come and burn your... house. This is your final warning.”

An online search revealed that Quek is the head of department of English Language and Literature at St Patrick’s School.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times on Nov 28, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said: “(We take) a serious view of staff misconduct and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline, including dismissal from service. 

“MOE will follow up with disciplinary proceedings after the court case has concluded.”

Separately, Hairul is accused of collecting and delivering parcels to various locations in Singapore even though he did not have a valid work pass to do so.

He is accused of committing this offence between early 2024 and Nov 19, 2025.

His case will be mentioned again in court on Dec 9.