All language subtitles for Asias Underworld s01e08 Loan Sharks.eng

In Southeast Asia,

thousands of people have experienced
the merciless grip of the loan shark.

Illegal moneylenders target people
who are desperate for cash,

with nowhere else to go.

Charging interest rates that
are nothing short of criminal,

loan sharks squeeze every last
dollar out of their victims,

using intimidation, violence...

...and even torture
to make sure they get paid.

In 2011, in the Southeast Asian
nation of Singapore,

notorious loan shark Khoo Joo Huat

was the subject of an intense
12-month police investigation.

Detectives knew that
Khoo was the mastermind

behind a loan sharking network
that stretched across the country.

But what the officers lacked
was the hard evidence to put him away.

Of course, the main ringleader.

We have investigated him
for the past one year.

Officers are deployed to tailgate him.

Keep observation of him.

Police work revealed that
Khoo owned a vintage car,

a motorcycle, a large apartment
and a lavish penthouse.

Officers were granted
a warrant for his arrest.

On January 24th, 2011,

police entered the home
of 39-year old Khoo

and began collecting evidence.

A laptop and several
mobile phones were found,

loaded with the names and phone numbers
of Khoo's accomplices and clients.

In addition, 40,000 US dollars in cash
is found at one of his homes.

We found handphones, cash,
about 60,000 in one of the safe.

And computer, which...

we found some Excel sheet,
believed to be the data of those debtors.

And all these items were seized,

and Khoo Joo Huat was brought back
to CID for further interview.

Although the evidence is enough
to convict Khoo of loan sharking,

police worry it won't be enough
to convince a judge

that Khoo is the kingpin
they know him to be.

The officers needed more evidence,

and believed there to be more money
concealed in Khoo's apartment.

We decided to go back to Loyang,

his apartment again,
to conduct another search.

Khoo Joo Huat was very composed.

He actually told me that there's
nothing in his apartment.

Because I believe he would not think that
we would find anything.

This time, Khoo's apartment was
searched by four officers,

committed to seeing
the crime boss behind bars.

When we brought him back
to his Loyang residence,

we are suspicious
of every corner of his house.

After searching his house for hours,

there was still no sign of
the evidence they needed.

Finally,
the officers made a breakthrough...

On the first floor,
we did not find anything else.

But on the second floor
where the bedroom is,

we found a wardrobe.

The layout of the room
is quite interesting.

So we started to knock on the wall.

At the back of this wardrobe,
there's a hollow sound.

That's when we exert more force...

...to knock on the wall
behind the wardrobe.

That's where we found an entrance
to a concealed room.

It was a critical moment
in the investigation.

Officers carefully searched
the secret room.

Two combination safes were found,
each completely filled with bills.

When he opened up the safe,

we found that these
two safes were stuffed,

literally stuffed with 50 dollar notes
to the rim.

And also coins,

two big plastic bags of coins
was found inside the room.

We also found documents
of bank statements

belonging to Khoo Joo Huat.

The investigators had hit the jackpot.

In total, more than a quarter
of a million dollars in cash was found.

With detailed client information
discovered in the laptops and hand phones

and now a pile of cash,

police had all the evidence
they would need to prove

that Khoo was the boss
behind the syndicate.

He was charged with 122 counts of
Moneylending and Corruption.

On September 19th, 2011,

Khoo Joo Huat was sentenced
to five and a half years in prison,

was given a 300,000 dollar fine,
and 21 strokes of the cane.

But police didn't stop there.

Over the coming months,

officers would track down
and arrest six of Khoo's top henchmen.

Khoo Joo Huat's case
is significant because

we have effectively cracked down

the entire unlicensed
moneylending syndicate.

And it sends out a strong message
to the rest of the syndicate

who are out there.

But when one criminal syndicate fails,
others are prepared to take its place.

Authorities fear that the loan
sharking problem in Singapore

is far from being resolved.

In 2010 alone,

over 16,000 cases of loan sharking
and related crimes were reported.

There are many, many syndicates now.

Not only single, individual loan sharks
who would do small-time business.

There are also big syndicates

who give away hundreds
and thousands of dollars.

Illegal moneylenders prey on people
who are in dire need of money.

Most of their victims have been rejected
by all legal means of getting a loan.

The loan shark offers an instant loan,
paid in cash.

But at interest rates between
15 to 25 percent per week,

a debt of 1,000 dollars
can double in one month.

Syndicate bosses control the group,

with various levels of managers

and henchmen carrying out
orders from the top.

In the '70s and '80s,

when you talk about loan shark activities,

it was not random and the money
involved was not that big

and easier to control.

But today the loan sharks.

The syndicates are going out.

And of course the big boy
doesn't want to get caught.

He sends all his soldiers
to do all the dirty work,

and so that he will be safe.

Sammy is a former gang member

who entered the loan shark syndicate,
starting at the lowest rung.

Known as a "runner",

Sammy's job was to recover money
from those who had not paid up,

by any means necessary.

With police in Singapore cracking down
on loan shark operations,

the syndicates' tactics have changed.

To avoid the attention of police,

loan sharks now use harassment,
intended to publicly shame the debtor.

But outside of Singapore,

loan sharks are are becoming
increasingly violent

in the way they recover their loans.

Across the border in Malaysia,

illegal moneylending
syndicates are kidnapping

and chaining up their victims for months,

using violence and physical torture
to get their money.

Across Asia,

loan shark syndicates are showing
just how far criminals will go for money.

In Malaysia,

illegal moneylending groups use fear
and violence to keep the cash flowing.

May 28, 2009.

Police enter an abandoned shop house
in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia's capital city.

What they uncover is one
of the most extreme cases

of loan shark brutality
ever seen in Malaysia.

Three men were found, shackled to a wall,

and suffering from various injuries.

The men had been locked
up for two months,

fed only bread and water,

and had been repeatedly
beaten with sticks.

The victims owed between
400 to 1,000 US dollars

to a loan shark syndicate
known as the Krystal 9 gang.

There was no limit to the brutality
used by the Krystal 9 loan sharks.

Five members of the
syndicate were arrested

under the Emergency Ordinance law
in Malaysia,

after authorities
uncovered documents that

showed the gang raking in
more than 15,000 US dollars a day.

This extreme measure is
rarely used by authorities,

skipping formal court proceedings,

and sending the criminals
straight to prison.

The Krystal 9 case brought loan
sharking into the spotlight,

spreading the fear that many more groups
could be conducting similar operations.

Investigators began looking into
the nature of these organizations,

revealing why ordinary people turn to
these criminals for financial help.

Loan shark syndicates are
now highly organized,

looking into every
aspect of their clients

before approving a cash loan.

A former member of a
loan shark syndicate,

"Tong" was responsible for conducting
background checks on new clients.

Once the loan sharks are convinced that

the client can pay back
at least the principle amount,

the loan is approved,
and the scam begins.

On the same day that the loan is issued,

one interest payment is taken
directly off of the principle amount.

As the interest accumulates
at weekly rates,

a second payment of 200
would be due the following week.

In this way, the loan sharks make
their money back within four weeks,

on interest alone.

When the loans involve
larger sums of money,

the victim's debt quickly
spirals out of control,

and the criminals soon
lose their patience.

In Singapore,

police have discovered
a disturbing new trend.

Loan shark gang members
appear to be getting younger.

In early 2009,

a total of 124 loan shark
arrests were made.

About 25 percent of those arrested
were under the age of 19.

Local youths are now being hired
as a cheap source of labor,

to harass those in debt,

and at the same time,

adding another layer of secrecy
and protection for the syndicate's bosses.

These days, loan sharking
syndicates are loosely linked.

They outsource their business function.

They employ debtors or even youths
who are easily attracted to fast cash,

to commit harassment.

Because the syndicates
are loosely linked,

those runners arrested
may not be linked or associated

with the upper level of the syndicate,

which makes enforcement
difficult in order to pin down

the upper level of the
loan-sharking syndicate.

Youths are recruited from schoolyards

using posters and leaflets that
are handed out by gang members.

The advertisements promise
easy money for part-time work.

"Jonathan" was recruited as a
loan shark runner in Singapore

when he was still in his teens.

Youths are paid about 40 US dollars

to throw red paint at the homes
of those who haven't paid up.

The more houses they cover in paint,
the more money the youths make.

Over time however, Jonathan's criminal
activities began to escalate.

The syndicate bosses started to demand
increasingly violent acts from the youths.

From beatings to kidnappings

and recruiting youths
to do their dirty work,

loan sharks have become extremely violent
and unpredictable in their methods.

With the strike of a match,

the loan shark syndicate threatens to
put an end to the life of a debtor,

and potentially kill countless
others in the process.

Violence and greed fuels
the loan shark business in Asia.

Debtors are forced to pay interest rates
that are nothing short of criminal.

And when loan sharks come calling,

not even the victims' families
or neighbours are safe.

Aside from physical beatings and torture,

these groups have also been
known to vandalize homes

and cars using acid.

But perhaps the most dangerous
of all tactics is that of arson.

Recently, loan sharks have adopted

a more aggravated techniques
in committing their harassment,

such as setting fire at your house.

This act itself, definitely cause
dangers not only to debtors,

but also to other innocent victims
staying at the same area.

Numerous cases have been reported
of fires being set by loan sharks,

in an effort to strike fear
into their debtors.

In central Singapore, in 2011,

four men were charged with setting fire
to the front doors of eight apartments.

With more than 500 people
inhabiting these buildings,

the incidents could easily
have resulted in disaster.

The use of arson as an act
of intimidation shows

just how far these men
will go to get their money back.

Over the years, the illegal loan sharks
have become more brazen

because they have more at stake.

They lend more money out.

They need to recoup.

For their victims,

trapped between financial debt
and the constant threat of death,

there may seem to be no way out.

But there is another option for those
who cannot afford to repay their loan.

Debtors are now given a choice.

Suffer the consequences at the
hands of vicious criminals,

or join them,
and become part of the syndicate.

In 2009, "Malek" borrowed
700 US dollars from a loan shark.

It was a mistake
that would change his life forever.

I borrow money from the illegal
moneylender in 2009, June.

Thousand dollars.

I need to pay every week. 200.

And I paid more than 2,000.

And after this, I couldn't pay.

Five months after taking the loan,

Malek was coerced into working
for the gang as a "runner".

He was first asked to harass others

who were in debt by
vandalizing their homes.

I told them I couldn't pay anymore.

Then they offer me to do runner,
I work for them.

Then they ask me
to pour paint on people house.

Which I didn't want to do.

Then they give me another option
to open a bank account for them.

So that other debtors can transfer
the money to them, my account.

When you owe money to the loan shark
and if the loan shark say,

"If you don't pay
you do certain things for me."

"Like, open up a bank account for me."

And you do it.

And you will be considered as abetting,

assisting in the running of
a loan shark business.

And when you are caught,
you go to jail too.

By agreeing to open an account
for a criminal syndicate,

Malek would be committing
a federal offense.

If caught, he would be facing prison
and possibly even corporal punishment.

But the alternative may be
far more severe.

They threaten me that
they will harm my family,

or they will burn my house.

That's why I was very afraid,
I open account for them.

They told me once I open
a bank account for them,

nothing will happen.

Nobody will know, they told me.

I trust them.
But then I was sentenced to prison.

Any person who is convicted
in assisting the loan sharks

such as opening a bank account,

will face a fine of
between 20,000 to 300,000

and the imprisonment
of not more than four years.

Caning of not more than six strokes
may be imposed as well.

There are a lot of people
who say this is not fair

because the victim have no choice.

But they had a choice.

They could have reported
the matter to the authorities, you know?

That's what he should do.

Because if he doesn't do that
and he continue to help the loan shark,

he's going to get into
bigger and bigger problems.

Cases like Malek's have alerted
authorities to the growing crisis.

Singapore police have since launched
a crackdown on loan sharking activities,

forming specialized units
to topple the criminal syndicates.

In 2010,

the dedicated anti loan-sharking units,

called the Unlicensed
Moneylending Strike Force

was set up in
the Criminal Investigation Department.

Where the upper echelons of the
loan-shark syndicates were targeted.

After two years of specialized
criminal investigations,

dozens of syndicates
across the country have been dismantled.

On a single night in November of 2011,

Singapore police arrested
a total of 86 gang members,

in one of the biggest loan shark
takedowns in Asian history.

Many covert and overt officers
are deployed at the ground

for a successful operations.

So, such island wide operations...

...have been crucial
and successful for the police,

in crippling and also disrupting
the loan sharking activities.

With police taking down criminal
syndicates from top to bottom,

former gang member Tong knew it was time
to get out of the loan sharking business.

After 15 years of flirting with prison,

Tong witnessed the arrest of
three members of his syndicate,

an event that forced him to
re-evaluate his criminal life.

Criminals, who use extortion

and the threat of violence
to ruin lives and destroy families,

live in constant fear of the authorities.

But Tong now strives to
make an honest living.

And although it is a far cry

from the loan shark group
he once helped to control,

Tong appears to have
turned over a new leaf,

saying goodbye to the
criminal underworld forever.

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