Moneylenders hound man’s ex-landlord after he fails to report change of address
A man was fined $2,000 on Tuesday after he failed to report a change of address for more than two years, causing moneylenders to continue to hound his previous landlord for payment.
Lee Kah Hin had moved out from the Jalan Bukit Merah unit he had rented in April 2020, but the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said his former landlord reported on Dec 9, 2022 that she continued to receive his mail, including letters from his creditors.
The 62-year-old had moved to a new unit in Tampines but did not report his change of residence to ICA within 28 days of moving out, as required by law.
Investigations later revealed that after moving out, Lee continued to take out additional loans from various licensed moneylenders and reported his former address as his place of residence, the ICA said in a statement on Tuesday.
“He did so knowing that the moneylenders would send him reminder letters whenever he could not keep up with his repayments,” added the ICA.
“As a result, letters of demand were sent to the former address after Lee had defaulted on debt repayments.”
Under the National Registration Act, all identity card holders who change their address must report the change to ICA within 28 days.
Singapore citizens and permanent residents who need to report a change of residential address can do so online via ICA’s change of address e-Service at http://go.gov.sg/ic-address
Those found guilty of failing to report a change of residential address can be fined up to $5,000, jailed up to five years, or both.
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