Arrested: Woman suspected to have orchestrated 'loan shark harassment' on her own Tampines flat

The 32-year-old female owner of a flat in Block 896B Tampines Street 81 has been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a series of ‘loan shark harassments' on her own flat, including setting fire to the metal gate, and tossing meat at the door. 

It was reported that a fire had broken out at the unit on Monday (May 15) at around 10am, and when reporters from the Shin Min Daily News arrived on the scene, the unit's metal gate was visibly charred, bearing obvious signs of a fire. 

The CCTVs outside the unit were also burnt, and the ceiling blackened by smoke, reports Shin Min Daily News via Lianhe Zaobao. 

A neighbour told reporters that the such incidents have been common since January this year (2017).

Said the witness:

“This time the fire happened at around 10am.

“I caught a whiff of gas from my house.

“When I opened my door to investigate, I discovered that one of the units was on fire!”

Sources also revealed that the fire had been started with two pieces of rags soaked in oil, and strapped onto the metal gates before being lit up. 

The neighbour quickly extinguished the fire with water, and claimed that another fire had happened on the previous Monday (May 8) too, when the wooden shoe rack outside the unit caught fire for reasons unknown. 

It is understood that the owner of the unit was once harassed by loan sharks, who set the her gate on fire.

The owner had reported the case to the police on many occasions, but the frequency of the harassments have gone up recently. 

Just last month, someone had thrown meat between the door and metal gate of the unit, and the police were called in. 

However when the police arrived after the fire this time round, they discovered something amiss. 

Another neighbour said that she stumbled upon the aftermath of the fire and had alerted the police. 

It is believed that the female owner is involved with loan sharks and owes them money, although the amount owed is not known, and that the fire was orchestrated by her to create trouble and mischief. 

The police issued a formal statement on the incident, saying that they were alerted to the incident on May 15, 2017 at around 10.19am, and a 32-year-old female suspect was arrested for mischief by fire.