O$P$: Tearaway teens

More and more youth being used by loan sharks to harass debtors

Teo Xuanwei

HE HAD been eyeing a dream mobile phone for some time even though he could not afford it. So, when an offer to make some easy cash came along, Tom - not his real name - jumped at it.

The "task" assigned to him by an "uncle": Scrawling graffiti outside debtors' flats demanding payment.

The 15-year-old school dropout has been a runner for illegal moneylenders for almost six months, getting between $20 and $50 for each night's "work". And he has saved almost enough for the $400 second-hand mobile phone he craves for.

"You usually work with someone acting as a lookout, so you have to be very unlucky to get caught," the tearaway teenager told Today.

Teens like Tom are increasingly being used by loan shark syndicates to harass debtors into paying up. Police figures show that the number of youth - those aged under 19 - arrested last year for offences related to unlicensed moneylending crept up to 63 from 59 in the preceding year.

Figures for youth arrests this year have not been made public yet. But based on the massive jump in the number of harassment cases related to loansharking in the first three months alone, it is likely that more youth are involved. Between January and March, the police handled about 4,000 such cases - double the number in the corresponding period last year.

In two separate operations last week, police arrested seven youth suspected of harassing debtors. On Thursday, two suspects, including a boy aged 17, were nabbed. Two days earlier, six out of the nine persons arrested for suspected harassment related to loansharking were aged between 12 and 19 years old.

The police and youth counsellors told Today that the lure of making a quick buck is usually the main motivation for teens to turn to crime.

Dr Carol Balhetchet, director of youth services at the Singapore Children's Society, said: "They see their peers having certain material possessions and they want those things, too."

Some may not be able to find jobs because of their age and decide to resort to crime. "It's the easiest shortcut to the 'problem' in the kid's eyes," she said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a one-time loan shark said that youth, especially those involved in street-gang activities, are soft targets.

Loan shark syndicates usually task the leaders of street gangs with harassing debtors and the leaders, in turn, delegate the work to the teens "under" them, he explained. "These teenagers will do almost anything to prove they are 'brave'," he said. "They are so eager to prove their loyalty to the gang that they don't think about the consequences."

Echoing the view, Dr Balhetchet says these youth see the gangs as their "surrogate families".

"The gangs give them a sense of belonging and security. It makes them willing to do anything for their 'family members'," she noted.

And even if they do get caught, they are too far down the "food chain" to lead the authorities to the syndicate leader, said the former loan shark.

Mr Winston Seah, a senior social worker at Crossroad Youth Centre & Care Corner Family Service Centre, said that getting youth to become runners is appealing to loan sharks because the teens "are often able to avoid the suspicion of law enforcement officers".

As Tom pointed out: "People think we're just kids staying out late and hanging out."

Under the law, those convicted of harassment or intimidation in connection with unlicensed moneylending face a fine between $4,000 and $40,000, or up to three years in jail, or both. Although the teenage runners may face less strict treatment under the law compared with adults, being cavalier could be foolhardy. And under certain circumstances, those aged 17 and above may even be tried as adults.

Many like Tom continue to engage in these criminal activities until they get caught.

The police and youth counsellors advise parents, family members and teachers to look out for warning signs. These include a youth who often keeps to himself, becomes secretive about his activities or his friends, or who is suddenly able to afford branded goods.

"If parents detect these warning signs, they should begin communicating with their children about their activities or enforce a curfew," said Mr Seah.

"The police will continue to work with schools and educational institutions to prevent youth from being lured and recruited by the syndicates," a police spokesperson said.

From TODAY, News –Monday, 15-Jun-2009

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