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SINGAPORE : Loanshark activities may not be a big problem at Canberra constituency, but residents there are not taking any chances.
They are forming neighbourhood watch groups to prevent loan sharks from striking.
A pilot scheme was launched at the constituency's emergency preparedness exercise on Sunday.
During the exercise, a sudden "explosion" occurs at a coffeeshop. Fire breaks out, and smoke fills the area. Within minutes, firefighters arrive. The town council's emergency response team is there too, and swings into action.
The team is made up of residents, and they are using this exercise to sharpen their readiness in dealing with situations like this.
Such crises are arguably rare, but on a daily level, residents are also roped in to look out for potential problems and threats to the community.
One example is loanshark activities. There were about 10 such cases in the past year. According to MPs, this is not a large figure. Still, they want to stamp out the problem, and their weapon is to set up a neighbourhood watch programme.
Dr Lim Wee Kiak, MP for Sembawang GRC, explained: "We are turning the tables around. We are asking all eyes now to help us be on the lookout for it.
"In fact, we have successfully solved many cases just by lobbying community watch groups. What we did was that we lobbied for the opposite block to look out for loansharking activities for the adjacent block."
Meanwhile, CCTV cameras have been installed at the five housing blocks where loanshark harassment is a problem. And the portable cameras can be moved to other blocks, if necessary.
Cameras may also be installed at stairwells as an added precaution. - CNA/ms
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