Errant Licensed Moneylender, Skyline Credit, Fined

26 FEB 2016

26 Feb 2016 Posted in Press releases

Errant Licensed Moneylender, Skyline Credit, Fined

  1. The Registry of Moneylenders, a department under the Ministry of Law, brought charges in the State Courts on 25 May 2015 against Hu Sufen (胡素芬), 29 years old, and Chng Kok Keng (庄国庆), 35 years old, respectively the sole proprietor and the manager of the moneylending business, Skyline Credit.

  2. Skyline Credit has held a moneylending licence since 16 March 2011. The licence will not be renewed after 15 March 2016.

  3. On 25 February 2016, Hu and Chng pleaded guilty in the State Courts.

  4. Hu was convicted on two out of six charges for the following offences:

  • One charge under Section 24(7) of the Moneylenders Act for recklessly furnishing false information to the Registrar; and

  • One charge under Rule 19(1) of the Moneylenders Rules for granting unsecured loans exceeding $3,000 to Singapore borrowers with annual income below $20,000.

The remaining four charges for similar offences were taken into consideration by the Court for the purpose of sentencing.

  1. Chng was convicted on one out of three charges under Section 25(4)(b) of the Moneylenders Act for knowingly producing a document, which contained a false statement on the income of a borrower, to an officer duly authorised by the Registrar during an inspection. The remaining two charges for similar offences were taken into consideration by the Court for the purpose of sentencing.
  1. Hu was sentenced in the State Courts to a fine of $13,000 (in default 3 weeks’ imprisonment), while Chng was sentenced to a fine of $12,000 (in default 2 weeks’ imprisonment). Thirty-six other licensed moneylenders have been convicted and fined since 2011 (see Annex A (DOCX, 0.02MB).
  1. The Registry carries out regular inspections on licensed moneylenders. Where breaches of moneylending laws are found, enforcement measures are taken, including the suspension or revocation of licences, forfeiture of security deposits, warnings and prosecutions. Those convicted of breaches of the Moneylenders Act and Rules face a fine of up to $40,000 and/or an imprisonment term of up to two years on each charge.

26 FEBRUARY 2016
REGISTRY OF MONEYLENDERS
MINISTRY OF LAW

Last updated on 26 Feb 2016