Multiple food deliveries sent to man’s address after helper’s information was used in borrowing money from loanshark
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SINGAPORE: When several food orders were delivered to the residence of a man in Punggol, this made him suspicious, since no one in his household had placed the orders. He later found out that his foreign domestic helper had given out her personal details to an acquaintance in Hong Kong, who in turn used them in order to borrow money from a loan shark.
It has been a practice among loan sharks to place orders on a cash-on-delivery basis from food and beverage establishments and then have them sent to the address of the person who was unable to pay back as a form of harassment, and in the hopes of hastening repayment.
The person who used the information from the man’s helper had borrowed S$470 from a loan shark, and the loan plus interest, amounting to S$670, was supposed to be paid last Saturday (Aug 17). Unfortunately, they were unable to pay back, and the food delivery orders began arriving that night, according to a report in Shin Min Daily News.
The 37-year-old man first learned of the orders when he came home from dinner, as there was a GrabFood rider at his door, who said the food had been ordered by the man’s helper. Upon checking, the name of the person who ordered food was almost the same as his helper’s, with only one letter that was different.
When the man asked his 31-year-old helper, who has been in his employ since last November, she denied having placed the order, and added that two other such delivery orders had already come that night. The man then asked the GrabFood rider for a report on the GrabFood platform.
Another delivery came at 12:30 a.m., and yet another at 4:00 pm the next day. No one from the man’s household accepted or paid for the food orders, which each cost around S$30. Some of the orders were left at the man’s doorstep, while others were taken away by the delivery riders.
The helper later told the man about having revealed her personal information to her acquaintance in Hong Kong. This person, in turn, asked another helper in Singapore to register a SIM card, which they used to contact a loanshark to borrow money.
The man’s helper did not contact the loan shark, although the report in Shin Min Daily News says that the man’s wife’s name and address were also disclosed. The wife told the Chinese-language daily that the person in Hong Kong who borrowed money from the loan shark told the man’s helper to ask the man’s wife for help in paying what she owed.
A police investigation into the matter is now ongoing.
The man has since put up a sign on his door that reads, “Dear Grab, we did not order anything. We have filed a police report as it has been happening repeatedly. Please contact your Grab officer.”
Unlicensed moneylenders have long been a problem in Singapore, to the point that the Police have a page dedicated to educating the public about them on their website. The Police say that loan sharks go out of their way to target vulnerable individuals, including domestic helpers, who are at times called upon to help their family members back home who are in need or are facing an emergency.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) also issues regular advisories for employers on how to help domestic helpers avoid becoming victims of loan sharks, saying that these incidents must be reported to the authorities immediately.
Read also: Loan sharks strike again? Fake food orders totalling S$1,000 delivered to Fernvale