SINGAPORE, April 4 — A man who climbed from a low-level loan shark runner to a syndicate “towkay” has been jailed for four years and two months and fined S$1 million (RM3.13 million) in Singapore, after raking in more than S$1 million from illegal lending operations spanning the republic and beyond.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Tan Keng Wee, 49, spent over a decade rising through the ranks of an unlicensed moneylending (UML) syndicate, eventually overseeing multiple “stalls” remotely from China while the group generated up to S$5.2 million in profits.
Tan began in 2003 earning S$1,000 a month as a runner, before moving up within a year to an “assistant loan shark” role handling administrative work such as recording debts and answering calls.
Six months later, amid a crackdown by Singaporean authorities, the syndicate’s mastermind, known as “Ah Ren”, shifted operations to Malaysia, with Tan following.
He was promoted again to manage a “stall” with about 80 to 100 debtors, while directing runners in Singapore. His pay rose to S$1,500 monthly plus 20 per cent of the stall’s profits.
The operation soon went regional. Between August and September 2005, Tan relocated with “Ah Ren” to Bangkok and later Shenzhen, where he continued running the business remotely. From China, he hired Singaporeans to carry out local lending and enforcement activities.
