According to an article from CNA, a 36 year old food deliveryman by the name of Abu Zar Ghifari Tarmudi was given two years and eight months of imprisonment as well as 12 strokes of the cane today (2 Mar).
This was for charges related to loan shark harassment as well as committing a rash act which endangers human life.
What happened
Abu had a job as a food deliveryman and took home about $80 to $100 a day for his work.
He started to borrow from loan sharks back in June 2022 as he had a habit of paying for his friends’ meals and did not have enough funds to do so.
While the loan sharks chased him for payment, he defaulted on them even though his family and him were constantly harassed and received threats.
Two months later on 30 Aug 2022, he had an argument with his mum at home in Punggol where they resided on the six floor because she did not accede to his request of helping him borrow money from his aunt.
That was when in a moment of rage, he flung a flask, a bowl, a tv set, a wooden bench and also three cups out of the window in the living room.
He was charged for this a month later in September 2022.
While out on bail, he helped the loan sharks to harass debtors
While he was out on bail for the earlier offence, he tried to get another loan from a loan shark with the alias of Darren.
Darren would not loan him any money as Abu still had arrears of $3,000 which he did not pay up to other loan sharks.
In exchange for money, Darren offered Abu a job, $150/house for every house he threw paint on and $200/house for every house he threw paint on as well as locking their gates.
Abu took up this offer as a means to clear his debts and he did so over two days in Oct 2022 when he harassed debtors by throwing paint at their doors and locking up their gates.
He also hung a piece of raw pork on the gate which had a Muslim person living inside.
Claims he was forced to harass debtors as his mother had been at the receiving end of the harassment
Abu said in court that he was forced to hang the raw pork outside the unit as a loan shark had sent ‘pork rice’ to his mum to harass them.
He also said that he had regretted his actions and would not do it again.