KUALA LUMPUR: Some 35 people including Malaysian delivery riders believed to have been recruited for loan sharking activities in Singapore have been arrested.
The arrests were made in cooperation with the Singapore Police Force, said Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail on Friday (May 15).
The enforcement follows a report by news outlet New Straits Times (NST) earlier this month about gig workers in Malaysia being recruited through online job groups to carry out deliveries in Singapore as part of intimidation tactics by loan sharks.
“Authorities have arrested about 35 individuals in Singapore in an integrated operation with the Singapore Police Force,” said Mohd Khalid at a press conference at the Royal Malaysia Police headquarters, as reported by NST.
“The arrests involved not only riders, but also mule account holders,” he said.
NST had reported on May 7 that loan sharks – some of whom were based in Johor – were using online freelance delivery services to harass loan defaulters in Singapore. The delivery riders were recruited through platforms like Telegram.
In some cases, they delivered products containing pork to Muslim borrowers – who are not allowed to consume pork as part of their faith – and were detained after the recipients filed police reports.
Some riders were reportedly offered up to S$100 for a delivery, did not know what was in the packages and were only told they were “surprise gifts”.
The loan sharks are believed to have adopted the tactic to avoid detection in Singapore, where intimidation methods like splashing paint on premises may be caught on closed-circuit television cameras.
Under Singapore law, riders involved in such deliveries may still face legal action regardless of intent, including offences linked to religious provocation and illegal moneylending activities, NST reported.
CNA has contacted the Singapore Police Force for more details.
Mohd Khalid said the police will continue taking firm action against those involved, including account holders linked to the syndicate.
“Individuals recruited into such schemes are often unaware of the true nature of the deliveries assigned to them,” he said, urging people to be cautious when accepting job offers from unknown parties, NST reported.