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SINGAPORE : A Filipino maid has been sentenced to 20 months' jail for starting an illegal moneylending business.
28-year-old Rebecca Andicoy Alcalde has been working in Singapore for the past nine years.
In 2005, she saw other Filipinos taking loans from moneylenders at Lucky Plaza at an interest rate or 20 percent. So she decided to start her own moneylending business, using her savings of S$5,000.
She issued loans of up to S$300 and charged her clients 20 percent interest. She made her debtors repay her on a monthly basis and they must settle the amount in three months.
Alcalde recruited 19 people, from August 2007 to March 2008, to help run the moneylending business. She also had an accomplice, 47-year-old Lim Meng Inn, since last March.
They were both arrested on March 30 by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who had conducted checks at Lucky Plaza.
During the court hearing on Tuesday, Alcalde's lawyer argued that she extended the loans out of good intentions - to help her friends to support their families.
Alcade faced 32 charges, but the prosecution proceeded with only 11.
"She wants to start a new leaf and return to her home country and get her life back on track. Given the current situation, she is not intending to appeal her case," said Leonard Loo Peng Chee, Alcalde's lawyer. - CNA /ls
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