Man gave control of his bank accounts to loan shark to offset loan
A food delivery rider with a gambling habit who borrowed $3,000 from a loan shark relinquished control of three of his bank accounts to the latter in exchange for a loan offset of $500 per account.
Among his offences, Alvin Phua Khian Tat applied for an OCBC bank account, claiming to be its sole operator, when in fact he did so to allow Darren – as the unlicensed moneylender is known – to take control of it.
Without revealing details, Deputy Public Prosecutor Joseph Gwee said that the account was later used for scams committed in Singapore.
On Tuesday, Phua, 25, who was not involved in the scams, was sentenced to three months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to offences including working together with Darren to cheat OCBC Bank.
In early 2022, Phua was in debt when he borrowed $3,000 from the loan shark, and was harassed when he failed to repay the amount.
Darren then told Phua that, in lieu of repayment, he could provide him with access to bank accounts to offset the incurred interest.
Phua, who was offered a reduction of $500 from his outstanding loan for every account he provided to Darren, agreed to the proposal.
Phua later opened an account with OCBC, which issued him items including an automated teller machine (ATM) card.
Soon after, he left the ATM card at a Sengkang block staircase for Darren to collect.
Phua also shared with the loan shark his i-banking information and personal identification number (PIN) linked to the account.
DPP Gwee told the court that at the time of the offences, Phua also had an existing account with Standard Chartered Bank.
Acting on Darren’s instructions in June 2022, he placed his StanChart ATM card in an empty cigarette box that he left at a staircase of an Ang Mo Kio block of flats.
Phua, who also shared with Darren his i-banking details and PIN linked to the StanChart account, later stopped receiving threats from the loan shark.
Phua’s bail was set at $15,000 on Tuesday, and he is expected to surrender himself at the State Courts on July 4 to begin serving his sentence.
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