A 45-year-old man was arrested after he was caught taking photographs of a flat at Yishun Avenue 9 on June 24.

He was confronted in the void deck by the flat resident, who was notified of the man’s presence by his CCTV.

When the resident called for the police, the man attempted to flee but was held back by the resident with the assistance of his family members.

An off-duty police officer saw the commotion and helped to detain the man.

The police said they were alerted to the case at about 10.10pm. A mobile phone was seized as case exhibit.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had assisted a loanshark to take the photographs, which would be used to harass the debtor.

The man is also allegedly involved in other similar cases of assisting a loanshark.

He was charged in court on June 26 under the Moneylenders Act 2008.

For first-time offenders, the offence of assisting unlicensed moneylending business carries a fine of not less than $30,000 and not more than $300,000 and with imprisonment for a term not exceeding four years.

You are advised to stay away from loansharks and not to work with or assist them in any way.

Call the police at 999 or the X-Ah Long hotline at 1800-924-5664 if they suspect or know of anyone who could be involved in loansharking activities.