Man who used old address to take loans fined by court after new flat owner gets letters of demand
The new owner of the flat lodged a police report after receiving many of the man's letters, including letters of demand from credit companies.
by Lydia Lam · CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
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SINGAPORE: A man who sold his flat continued to use his old address to take multiple loans from licensed moneylenders, resulting in the new owner receiving letters of demand when he defaulted on debt payments.
Low Gin Chean, a 51-year-old Singaporean, was fined S$2,000 (US$1,565) by a court on Friday (Apr 24).
He pleaded guilty to one count under the National Registration Act of failing to report his change of residence within 28 days.
THE CASE
The court heard that Low owned a flat in Toa Payoh from 2006 until July 2024, when he sold it to a woman.
However, even after moving out, he did not report the change of his address within 28 days as required.
Between February and March in 2024, when he was still owner of the Toa Payoh unit, Low had taken three loans from licensed moneylenders.
After he moved out, he continued to take another 10 loans from licensed moneylenders using the Toa Payoh address in January and February 2025.
This was despite knowing that reminder letters would be sent to the address if he could not pay up.
When Low defaulted on his debt repayments, the licensed moneylenders sent letters of demand to the Toa Payoh flat.
The new owner of the flat lodged a police report in March 2025 saying she had been receiving many of Low's letters, even after being registered as the new owner. This included letters of demand from credit companies.
Low was later referred to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's (ICA's) investigation branch.
The ICA prosecutor sought a fine of S$2,000 saying Low's actions resulted in inconvenience to the new owner.
He had dishonestly used his old address to secure multiple loans, about six to seven months after selling the flat.
"The Act is precisely in place to stem such conduct," he said.
Low was unrepresented. In mitigation, he apologised to the judge.
He said: "I know I did the wrong things, but at that point in time I was unemployed so I wasn't in the correct frame of mind. I know that's not the correct excuse and I will bear all the consequences meted out to me."
For failing to report his change of residence within 28 days, Low could have been jailed for up to five years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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