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2 men get jail, caning for involvement in loanshark harassment

SINGAPORE — Strapped for cash, a 19-year-old man sought his friend’s advice on how to make a quick buck.

Muhammad Shauqil Muhammad Shawal, 19, Muhammad Shahrin Sazali, 22, Muhammad Qamarul Ardy Mohamed Hassim, 20, and Joreemy Abdullah, 23, arrested for loanshark activities to earn a quick buck. Photo: Reuters file photo

Muhammad Shauqil Muhammad Shawal, 19, Muhammad Shahrin Sazali, 22, Muhammad Qamarul Ardy Mohamed Hassim, 20, and Joreemy Abdullah, 23, arrested for loanshark activities to earn a quick buck. Photo: Reuters file photo

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SINGAPORE — Strapped for cash, a 19-year-old man sought his friend’s advice on how to make a quick buck.

The friend in turn put him in touch with some loansharks, who hired the teenager to harass borrowers who had not paid back their debts, by splashing their walls with paint and locking their gates, among other acts.

For this, and later recruiting three others as accomplices, Muhammad Shauqil Muhammad Shawal has been sentenced to 16 months in prison, nine strokes of the cane, and a S$90,000 fine. If he does not pay the fine, he will be jailed another 18 weeks.

The court heard that Shauqil had struck deals with three unlicensed moneylenders to work as a runner for them in December last year. For splashing paint and scribbling on the walls of debtors’ homes, Shauqil would be paid S$100. For splashing paint, scribbling on walls and locking their metal gates, he would get S$150. For slipping threatening notes under borrowers’ doors, the moneylenders would pay him S$50 for each note.

Shauqil then roped in three others: Muhammad Shahrin Sazali, 22, Muhammad Qamarul Ardy Mohamed Hassim, 20, and Joreemy Abdullah, 23, who had earlier confided in the teenager about their financial problems, to help.

Over a period of close to two weeks, the four harassed debtors by splashing paint on their doors, sending warning notes with photographs of the borrowers’ children, and vandalising their property. At times, Shauqil would simply send the other three to do the job. Upon completing their tasks, they would take pictures of what they had done and send them to Shauqil, who would then forward the pictures to the moneylenders.

The four were arrested on February 5, after a resident living one of the HDB blocks Shauqil and his friends had defaced lodged a police report, prompting an investigation.

Shauqil faced 16 charges in all, for acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender to carry out harassment, and instigating others to commit the crimes.

Shahrin faced four charges of acting on behalf of an unlicensed moneylender to carry out harassment. He was sentenced to 14 months and two weeks in jail, six strokes of the cane, and fined S$30,000. He will be jailed another six weeks in default if he does not pay the fine.

Shauqil appeared calm in court today (April 27) and even smiled when the judge read out his sentence.

The other two accomplices will be dealt with separately by the court.

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