S'porean man, 49, who worked his way up crime syndicate from runner to 'towkay', jailed & fined S$1 million

A 49-year-old man who worked his way up the ranks of a criminal syndicate for over 10 years, from being a loan shark runner to that of a "towkay", has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison and fined S$1 million, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Tan Keng Wee had remotely controlled the loan shark business and multiple unlicensed moneylending (UML) "stalls" from China, which enabled the syndicate to earn up to S$5.2 million in profits, while Tan himself pocketed over S$1 million.

Started working as loan shark runner in 2003

Tan began working as a loan shark runner in 2003 in Singapore, earning a monthly salary of S$1,000.

He was then promoted to "assistant loan shark" in March 2004 with an increased monthly salary of S$1,500.

While in this role, Tan became responsible for handling administrative matters, such as recording debts and answering phone calls.

Six months later, when the Singaporean authorities intensified their crackdown on loan sharks, the gang's mastermind and "tua towkay", called "Ah Ren", decided to move his operations to Malaysia, with the defendant accompanying him.

Tan was then promoted again to managing a "stall" that had approximately 80 to 100 debtors, while also directing a team of loan shark runners in Singapore.

This time, on top of his monthly S$1,500 salary, Tan could also take 20 per cent of the "stall's" profits.

Between August and September 2005, he moved to Bangkok, Thailand, with "Ah Ren", then to Shenzhen, China where he continued to manage the "stall" remotely.

Tan also hired several Singaporeans to handle local lending activities.

Promoted to a "head" in 2009

In Shenzhen, the gang avoided detection by using prepaid SIM cards registered under other people's names.

They would instruct the runners in Singapore to purchase these prepaid SIM cards and mail them to their locations in China.

Tan also recruited runners from a pool of struggling existing debtors, and would instruct them to harass people who could not pay their debts by splashing paint and locking their doors.

He was promoted to a "towkay" in 2009 and given funds by "Ah Ren" to open a new UML "stall".

By 2016, Tan had eight of these "stalls" under his management, involving at least 700 debtors. The profits he earned was estimated to be between S$3.06 million and S$5.2 million while Tan himself earned about S$1.029 million.

He also charged interest rates that generally ranged from 15 to 20 per cent. These rates could soar to 40 to 50 per cent if a debtor was unable to repay on time.

The police also received 1,529 reports related to his "stalls" between 2006 and 2019. Most of the complaints pertained to harassment and intimidation due to their inability to repay debts.

Case details also showed that in 2014, Tan bought an executive condominium for about S$1.2 million where his wife, mother and children lived and used more than S$180,000 of his illegal earnings to pay for the mortgage, reported Shin Min.

In April 2019, "Ah Ren" was arrested in China and extradited back to Singapore.

Tan himself ceased all of his activities in June of the same year. He also remained in China to avoid arrest until he returned to Singapore to surrender in 2025.

Given a total of 16 charges

Tan was given a total of 16 charges, including violations under the Moneylenders Act, as well as the Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, according to Shin Min.

He pleaded guilty to six of the charges on Apr. 2, with the remaining charges taken into consideration.

Should he fail to pay the fine, he will be required to serve an additional 50 weeks in prison in lieu of payment.

Top photo from Mothership