The Police have arrested a 26-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of loanshark harassment.

On 20 December 2023, the Police were alerted to a case of loanshark harassment at a residential unit along Choa Chu Kang Crescent, where black and yellow paint were splashed onto the gate of the unit. The walls beside the unit were also scribbled with loanshark-related graffiti.

Through ground enquiries and with the aid of images from Police cameras, officers from Jurong Police Division established the identity of the man and arrested him on the same day. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man was also allegedly involved in two other cases of loanshark harassments.

The man will be charged in Court on 22 December 2023 under the Moneylenders Act 2008. For first time offenders, the offence of loanshark harassment carries a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $50,000, with imprisonment of up to five years, and caning of up to six strokes.

The Police have zero tolerance for loanshark harassment activities. Those who deliberately vandalise properties, cause annoyance and disruptions to public safety and security, will be dealt with severely in accordance with the law.

Members of the public are advised to stay away from loansharks and not to work with or assist them in any way. The public can call the Police at ‘999’ or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in loansharking activities.

On December 20, 2023, a seemingly ordinary evening took a dark turn at Block 734 Pasir Ris Street 72. At around 4:50 pm, the police responded to a call for assistance, setting in motion a series of events that would leave a community shaken.

Arrest

The Police have arrested a 61-year-old man for his suspected involvement in a case of voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.

On 20 December 2023 at about 4.50pm, the Police received a call for assistance at Block 734 Pasir Ris Street 72. Upon arrival, Upon reaching the location, officers were met with a distressing sight. A 46-year-old man and two women, aged 53 and 55, had sustained slash wounds. Despite the gravity of their injuries, all three victims remained conscious and were swiftly transported to the hospital for medical attention.

The 61-year-old man was arrested at the scene for voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon. He was found with injuries sustained during the attack and conveyed semi-conscious to the hospital.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the weapon of choice in this disturbing incident was a chopper. The dangerous weapon was promptly seized by the police as evidence, a key element in the impending legal proceedings.

The parties involved were known to each other and not on friendly terms. The chopper was seized as a case exhibit.

The 61-year-old man will be charged in court on 21 December 2023 with attempted murder under Section 307 of the Penal Code 1871. The offence of attempted murder where hurt is caused to any person by such act carries life imprisonment and caning, or imprisonment of up to 20 years and fine or caning, or both. 

Image for illustration purposes

The Police would like to alert members of the public to a phishing scam variant involving scammers impersonating as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and targeting victims via e-mail. Since 9 December 2023, at least 10 victims have fallen prey and with losses amounting to at least $9000.

In these cases, victims would receive unsolicited emails from scammers purportedly from “IRAS” and informing that they are eligible for refunds due to prior overcharging of payments. Victims would be provided a weblink, which directed them to a phishing website masquerading as the IRAS website. Victims would be required to select their preferred refund method via debit or credit card. The victims would then provide their bank card details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) on the phishing website. They would only discover that they had been scammed when they were later notified of unauthorised transactions made on their debit or credit cards.

The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:

1. ADD – ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes.  Set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks.
   
   2. CHECK – For scam signs with official sources (e.g. ScamShield WhatsApp bot @ https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot, call the Anti-Scam Helpline on 1800-722-6688, or visit www.scamalert.sg). Look out for tell-tale signs of a phishing website. Do not click on suspicious emails and always verify the authenticity of claims of problems with your income tax status with the official IRAS website. Never disclose your personal or banking credentials and/or OTPs to anyone!
   
   
2. TELL – authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.

For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!

Users of the Singaporean car rental company, BlueSG, have voiced their frustrations as the BlueSG app reportedly failed to end their rentals when desired. This issue has left some of their users discontented and uncertain about billing procedures.

Used for 30 mins but rental ongoing for 3 days

An anonymous user, on the basic version of BlueSG’s membership plan, encountered the malfunction on December 19.

He only realized the problem when he drove to work from 7 am to 7:30 am. Despite informing a chat agent about the issue, he discovered that his initial rental was still ongoing when he checked the application after ending his shift at 10 pm on the same day.

Despite the chat agent’s assurance that they had ended his rental at 7:27 am, the application reflected otherwise.

Subsequent attempts to contact customer service proved unresponsive, leaving the user without a resolution. The prolonged period of the ongoing rental issue, lasting until December 22 at 4 pm, intensified his frustration.

The incident spanned over several days, highlighting the persistence of the malfunction. The user, who uses the BlueSG app at least twice a week, expressed his discontent, emphasizing that such issues should not take an extended period to resolve.

Compounding the frustration is the user’s uncertainty about the impending bill from BlueSG. The extended duration of the rental raises concerns about potential charges and how the billing system will account for the malfunction.

He also criticised the customer service’s lack of responsiveness and follow-up.

BlueSG’s response

We deeply apologise for the frustrations and inconvenience caused by the recent glitches in our app due to a systems migration update on December 19, 2023.

To address the issue, immediate action has been taken to identify the affected trips that have exceeded 48 hours, and will be waiving the entire rental fee for those trips, as part of our service recovery process.

Please note however, that additional fees incurred for the violation of terms and conditions, such as cleaning or damages to the vehicle will still apply.

We are diligently monitoring the situation and are committed to addressing outstanding issues and implementing measures that prevent similar occurrences in the future.

We want to assure you that customer satisfaction remains at the top of our priority and would like to express our gratitude for your understanding, loyalty and continued support.