'I feel really helpless': Woman files police report after friend allegedly used her details to borrow from loan sharks

A woman has lodged several police reports after her friend allegedly stole her identity card (IC) details to borrow money illegally.

This reportedly led to loan sharks harassing her old neighbour and her husband's music school.

Zhuo, 59, said Lan was one of her husband's students at his music school in Jurong West.

"I've known her for more than four years, and we would often get together to sing," she told Shin Min Daily News.

"Ms Lan once bought health products from me and said she'd help me sign up as a member. So I sent her a photo of my IC in 2020. I never expected her to use it to borrow money illegally."

Zhuo moved to a new house in 2021, but she found out that her former neighbour was allegedly harassed by loan sharks the following year.

She soon discovered that the 58-year-old Lan was behind the alleged loans.

"My neighbour negotiated with the loan sharks for over a month," Zhuo said. "The loan sharks added the 'borrower' to a chat group. After I got the information, I found out that the borrower was Lan, so I confronted her with my husband."

Lan denied the accusations at first, but after the loan sharks sent over bank statements, she finally confessed.

Zhuo gave her friend three days to settle the illegal loans of over $10,000 and the matter was resolved.

In April last year, Lan was allegedly back to her old ways as Zhuo received another complaint from her former neighbour who told her the loan sharks had returned to harass them.

"This time, I received harassment calls from the loan sharks myself and found out Lan had borrowed money from them again," Zhuo said.

"I called the police twice about this matter."

On July 20, the loan sharks sent a funeral wreath to her husband's music school to intimidate and curse them.

"I immediately asked the deliveryman to throw it away and called the police," Zhuo said.

"I feel really helpless as she (Lan) denies borrowing any money."

When Shin Min reporter visited Lan's residential address, tenants said they heard the homeowner owed more than $100,000 in loans, and a wreath was once delivered to the doorstep.

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This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.