Jail for man who jumped bail and fled to Johor in 2016
Just months after he became an illegal moneylender, a Singaporean man was charged for the offence in January 2016 but jumped bail later that year.
Yeong Siew Meng climbed into the cargo bed of a lorry without the driver’s knowledge, covering himself with some empty cartons and baskets to slip undetected into Johor.
After being on the run for eight years, he finally surrendered to the Singapore authorities in February 2024 and has been in remand since then.
On Oct 3, the 49-year-old man was sentenced to three years and two months’ jail and a fine of $150,000.
Yeong, who will have to spend an additional 40 weeks behind bars if he fails to pay the fine, had pleaded guilty to multiple charges, mainly those linked to his illegal moneylending activities.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Andrew Chia told the court there is no evidence that the offender had harassed his debtors.
Yeong’s legal woes started in May 2015 when he found himself in need of money for his daily expenses.
He borrowed $5,000 from an unlicensed moneylender known only as Ah Hai.
In June 2015, Ah Hai offered Yeong a job as a runner, promising him a monthly salary of $1,500.
Yeong accepted the offer and his job involved handing over loan monies to borrowers as well as collecting repayments from them.
On average, he helped Ah Hai with about five transactions daily. However, in August 2015, Yeong won $70,000 through illegal gambling and stopped working for Ah Hai.
The prosecution said that Yeong started his own unlicensed moneylending business the following month, offering loans of between $300 and $2,000, each at an interest rate of 20 per cent. The loans were repayable on a daily or weekly basis.
DPP Chia said that Yeong did not engage anyone to help him run his business.
Instead, he would hand the loans to his debtors either in cash or through electronic funds transfer.
He would also personally monitor his debtors’ outstanding loans and contact them to arrange for repayments when due.
He would then collect repayments either in person or through electronic funds transfer.
Between September 2015 and January 2016, he extended loans to 50 people, some of whom he poached from Ah Hai’s group of debtors.
The other debtors were either his acquaintances or were recommended to him by others.
The DPP did not disclose how the authorities found out about Yeong’s illegal moneylending activities but police arrested him on Jan 27, 2016, and he was charged in court two days later.
He was released on bail on Feb 4 that year but failed to turn up in court for a further mention two months later. A warrant of arrest was then issued against him.
Yeong finally surrendered to Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint on Feb 21, 2024.
He had told the officers that he was wanted for offences involving illegal moneylending activities, and police re-arrested him soon after.
Yeong was represented by lawyer Divanan Narkunan from Phoenix Law Corporation.
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