DPP urges stiff sentence for S’porean engaged in cross-border moneylending

SINGAPORE — Unable to clear his debts of S$20,000 with a loanshark, Ken Lee Jung Huat joined the loanshark’s syndicate and ended up helping to expand its business by operating it from China.

Such transnational syndicates must be stiffly dealt with, as their leaders “operate in the belief that they would never face the wrath of the law”, the prosecution argued today (April 23) at the hearing for Lee, who pleaded guilty on April 10 to 20 counts of operating and assisting in the business of unlicensed moneylending. Another 40 remaining charges will be taken into consideration.

The 39-year-old Singaporean ran his illegal moneylending business from Zhuhai, China, from late 2009 to February last year, where he issued loans between S$300 and S$30,000 with 20 per cent interest, the court heard.

Court documents showed that Lee was offered an opportunity in 2009 by a loanshark known as Ah Heng to operate a stall from China, with a monthly basic pay of S$1,500 and 30 per cent of total profits from the stall. Lee then flew to Hong Kong to learn the ropes of the illegal business.

Later that year, under the moniker Mark, he started running his own stall in China, where he would direct runners in Singapore to issue loans, collect repayments and deposit them into specific bank accounts here.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Kee pressed for Lee to be sentenced 54 months’ jail and three to four strokes of the cane for his offences under the Moneylenders Act.

Calling this an atypical case of unlicensed moneylending where the accused is not a mere runner, he argued that syndicate leaders routinely base themselves in a foreign country to evade detection by the Singapore authorities.

“For a substantial period, (Lee) operated the unlicensed moneylending stalls from Zhuhai, China, and earned substantial profits without the fear of being arrested, given the lack of an extradition treaty between Singapore and China,” said DPP Kee.

Lee was arrested on Feb 4 last year outside Orchard Cineleisure. He was in Singapore for a short stay, the court heard. Defence counsel Josephus Tan argued that Lee was merely the “hands and legs” of the syndicate, and had operated under the instructions of Ah Heng, who was the syndicate’s mastermind.

Pointing to court documents, Mr Tan said Lee’s runners had been employed based on Ah Heng’s recommendations and Lee had to tally his accounts with Ah Heng at the end of the day. Mr Tan added that Lee had demonstrated true remorse by cooperating with the authorities since his arrest.

However, DPP Kee contended that Lee was highly culpable and had played an “integral role” in the syndicate despite starting off as a mere runner in February 2009.

“He (rose) through the ranks over the years and was promoted to a position of power,” DPP Kee said, adding that while Ah Heng could recommend runners, Lee had made the eventual hiring decisions.

Lee will be sentenced on April 30. He could be fined between S$30,000 and S$300,000, and sentenced to up to six strokes of the cane for each charge.