A 31-year-old man was nabbed by police on Saturday in connection with a case of loansharking harassment in Ang Mo Kio housing estate. The suspect was apparently filmed by a police CCTV camera or Polcam, and arrested following a short chase by officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division.

He was spotted covering his face with a t-shirt and behaving suspiciously along the corridor of a flat along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. Preliminary investigations reveal that the suspect is believed to have attempted to carry out loanshark harassment earlier by scrawling loanshark graffiti on the wall. Loanshark-related paraphernalia such as padlocks, paint cans, markers and a mobile phone, were found in his possession and seized for investigations.

Camera footage from Polcams has helped to solve 18 crime cases and provided leads in 109 others. Plans to install them at 650 more blocks of Housing Board flats and multi-storey carparks by the end of the year are on track, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean recently. The move for Polcams to cover all HDB estates by 2016, was first announced in March during Budget 2013.

First time offenders found guilty of loanshark harassment may be fined not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000 with mandatory imprisonment of up to 5 years and mandatory caning of up to 6 strokes, under the Moneylenders Act (Revised Edition 2010).

Commander of Ang Mo Kio Police Division, Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Keok Tong San commended his officers for their vigilance and swift actions which led to the arrest of the suspect.

He reiterated that the Police will continue to make use of technology to track down those involved in loansharking activities and will ensure they are dealt with to the fullest extent under the law.