Loanshark mails 'money' to Clementi residents
Unsuspecting residents in a HDB block in Clementi opened their mail boxes on Thursday morning to find “hell money” awaiting them in the mail.
The hell bank notes, used as burnt offerings to the deceased by Taoists, were mailed to each household inside a nondescript envelope. On the back of the hell note were scribbles saying: "Ask him to pay $ if not I come up to paint you house."
Believed to be sent by loansharks, the hell note also contained the unit number, name and IC number of the debtor and two handphone numbers.
Some residents said they have made a police report and Clementi Police Headquarters have confirmed that a report has been filed. Yahoo! Singapore understands that the police are investigating the case.
When Yahoo! Singapore visited the address listed on the hell notes, the person named was not home but his brother spoke to us. The man is currently living alone in the flat because the debtor and his mother are out of the country.
"My brother was the one who borrowed the money but we have already paid up the debts," said the debtor's brother, who declined to be named. The debtor, who is in his late 40s, has a history of borrowing money from loansharks for his business and some minor gambling debts. The debts snowballed to about $30,000 and involved more than 10 loansharks.
"My three other brothers held a meeting and we decided to help him clear it this time, once and for all. But I don't know why the loansharks are still harrassing us," he said. "From what I heard from my brother, we have already settled everything. It could be just a misunderstanding.”
He could not be sure, however, if there were still unsettled debts or if this was just a scare tactic by the loansharks.
"My brother told me that once a debtor pays his debts, the debtor is considered 'dead' to the loanshark because there's no more business with him, that's why they send hell notes to the person. But I'm unsure why he's sending it to the whole block," he said.
He recalled an incident this year when his brother had already cleared his debts but the loansharks continued to harass his family and splashed paint on the walls. He said that his brother spoke to the loanshark and the latter apologised, saying it was a mistake.
Residents, whom Yahoo! Singapore, approached all said they received the hell notes.
"We're concerned about the safety of my family so we made a police report," said one resident, in his 20s. He said this is the second time such harassment has occurred. Last month, the loansharks splashed paint and wrote graffiti on the walls.
The resident added that the debtor's family members are good neighbours and it is understandable that people make mistakes.
