SINGAPORE — Wanting to service a S$60,000 debt he owed a loanshark, 25-year-old Goh Sze Liang agreed to work for him by making calls to debtors. However, he went a step further and devised a scheme to cheat the debtors so that part of it could be used to service his own debt.

In all, he tried to cheat more than 160 people, and succeeded in getting some S$22,000 from 15 of them between January and April this year.

Yesterday, Goh was jailed 48 months and fined S$30,000 by a District Court. As he cannot pay the fine, he will serve another six weeks in jail in default.

The court heard that Goh accessed a database — containing the personal particulars of debtors — provided by the loanshark, and would send text messages to random numbers.

In his messages, he would claim that they owed him money and threaten to harass them at home if they did not pay up. Many victims fell for his threats and handed over the money, but he did not demand payment from those who said they did not owe him money.

The prosecution said Goh had taken advantage of the loansharks’ fearsome reputation to convince his victims he would carry out his threats, and that his actions were driven by greed. In sentencing, District Judge Toh Yung Cheong pointed out that Goh’s offences were very serious. KIMBERLY SPYKERMAN