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Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Not the Way to Help Desperate People


The latest idea to charge those who borrow from loan sharks is surely not going to improve matters much as we should first of all understand why such people resort to such desperate measures.

These people are really desperate for help and they could be jobless, drug addicts or habitual gamblers and getting the police to start arresting them as the police seem unable to control the loan sharks seems more like a desperate measure by the authorities.

The welfare ministry should instead start programs to educate the public on how to spot potential problem cases especially those addicted to drugs, gambling and other social problems so that they can seek proper assistance to help family members.

Using authorised money-lenders is recommended but once one has no collateral no one will lend you any money.

We have an agency to provide loans to the hard-core poor but there is a ongoing CBT case involving one of the officers so it appears that even government endorsed agencies have their own problems on money matters.

Already our prisons are teeming with remand cases and the backlog is more than a year. Do you think a person who has to borrow from an “Ah Long” is going to raise bail or the fine?

graphics: http://www.instant-lender.com/loansharkslogo.gif

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