was formerly my in ex-ERA days...he was jailed for 3 months and fined S$474k... :( Record $314,000 fine for moneylending offences Charges include unlicensed lending, regulatory breaches, giving false info A REAL estate company director was fined $314,000 yesterday - the highest fine ever imposed on an errant licensed moneylender. Lee Pit Chin, 45, was also jailed for three months and fined $160,000 for operating as an unlicensed loan shark. The $314,000 was for offences committed while he was a licensed moneylender in 2010. Lee, who ran James Lee Credit, held a licence from July 2009 to June30, 2010, but did not renew it as he was already under investigation. In all, he faced 94 charges. He pleaded guilty last Friday to two of four counts of unlicensed moneylending and 30 regulatory breaches for granting unsecured loans to borrowers, and for recklessly furnishing false information to the Registrar of Moneylenders. Between September and December 2011, he instructed his office worker, Yan Hwee Onn, 50, to disburse loans of $28,500 and $15,000 to two borrowers at a 10per cent monthly interest rate. Yan was jailed for three months and fined $40,000 in March for assisting Lee in his unlicensed moneylending business. Last week, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ho said sometime in mid-2011, Yan suggested the idea of starting a business to issue loans to potential sellers of HDB flats who needed cash. Yan told Lee he would act as the middleman by seeking sellers, offering and issuing them loans, and cashing the repayments, while Lee provided the funds. Ms Ho said Lee was familiar with such operations and agreed, with the interest earned split 90/10 in favour of Lee. Defence counsel Yusfiyanto Yatiman said his client did not fit the profile of a typical loan shark but ran a successful legitimate real estate business for 19 years and set up James Lee Credit as an auxiliary business. Mr Yusfiyanto said: "He was previously a licensed moneylender, respected in the industry. He also held leadership positions in his church, went on missionary trips to India, East Timor and Malaysia, provided social service to distribute food to the needy on a weekly basis and to the poor and needy in rental flats." He said the co-accused was the ultimate mastermind behind the offences and that Lee, a father of two, was less culpable. District Judge Lee Poh Choo disagreed, saying: "The accused is a science graduate from NUS and has been in the real estate industry for 19 years. I cannot see him as a meek follower. The co-accused may have proposed the scheme, the accused can easily turn him down." Lee is the key executive officer of licensed estate agent James Lee Realty. However, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) said in a statement that it was reviewing his registration. Estate agents and salesmen are not allowed to introduce, refer, recommend or suggest the use of the services of moneylenders to clients. Neither can they receive commission, rewards, fees, payments or any benefits from any moneylender for any moneylending transaction. CEA director (licensing and investigation) Purnima Shantilal said: "Such offences cannot be tolerated and any person convicted in court will not be fit to be a salesperson." Lee could have been fined between $30,000 and $300,000 and jailed for up to four years on each charge of unlicensed moneylending. For recklessly furnishing information which was false, he could have been fined up to $30,000 and/or jailed for up to 12 months on each charge. Straits Times, 06 Jun 2013, Author : Elena Chong
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:24:15 +0000
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