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Loan shark runner who set flat doors alight gets jail, 24 strokes

SINGAPORE — A loan shark runner committed more than 100 harassment offences in a month, setting fire to the doors of HDB flats and locking the gates from the outside, in what was described by a district judge yesterday as one of the “most horrific” cases she had come across.

SINGAPORE — A loan shark runner committed more than 100 harassment offences in a month, setting fire to the doors of HDB flats and locking the gates from the outside, in what was described by a district judge yesterday as one of the “most horrific” cases she had come across.

For his offences, Rinto Abd Rahim was jailed 70 months and ordered to be caned 24 strokes. The 28-year-old was also fined S$60,000.

Rinto had initially borrowed money from licensed moneylenders to finance his lifestyle, including buying new mobile phones and clothes and dining at fancy restaurants.

Later, he began taking loans from unlicensed moneylenders in order to service the initial loans. When his debt began snowballing, Rinto quit his job as a warehouse assistant in April this year and began working as a runner for 10 unlicensed moneylenders.

The latter would provide him with addresses via text messages and specify the type of harassment he was to carry out for each debtor.

The court heard that, between April and May this year, Rinto harassed between five and nine debtors each day.

He would carry out acts such as soaking newspapers in lighter fluid and placing them at the gates of a unit before setting them alight, locking the gates with a bicycle lock and splashing paint on the door.

These took place at various locations across Singapore such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East, Sembawang and Tampines. After committing the acts, Rinto would take pictures of what he had done and email them to the unlicensed moneylenders he worked for, who would then pay him various amounts for these acts of harassment.

The court also heard that Rinto had opened bank accounts for these moneylenders and handed over these accounts to them.

In sentencing, District Judge Lee Poh Choo added that Rinto had no regard for the safety of the occupants of the flat as well as the damage he caused. She also noted that some of the victims were innocent, being neighbours of the debtors. Kimberly Spykerman

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