Taiwan’s representative office in Singapore said it is concerned about two Taiwanese men who have been sentenced to canings and jail terms for loan shark harassment.
According to a statement issued by Singaporean police authorities on Thursday last week, three Taiwanese have recently been given prison sentences of between seven and 24 months after being convicted of loan shark harassment.
Two of the defendants, identified as Su Wei-ying (蘇威穎) and Wu Wei-chun (吳瑋群) in the Singapore Police Force statement, were also to receive “15 strokes of the cane” for their offenses.
Su, 28, and Wu, 24, were both convicted on seven counts of loan shark harassment in violation of Singapore’s Moneylenders Act and sentenced to 24 months and 21 months in jail respectively, in addition to the caning.
Su was sentenced on Sept. 14 and Wu was sentenced on Sept. 28.
An official at the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore said on Saturday that the office sent people to visit the imprisoned Taiwanese a few days ago.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not disclose, however, whether the two Taiwanese had already been caned.
Asked whether the families of the two men were aware of the caning sentences, the official also declined comment, citing the defendants’ right to privacy.
Meanwhile, a 29-year-old Taiwanese man identified as Wu Ting-yi (吳庭毅), was convicted on Thursday last week on a single charge of conspiring with the other two Taiwanese to commit loan shark harassment and was sentenced to seven months in prison.
Caning is a form of corporal punishment that has been used in Singapore for more than 40 years. At the end of the caning, those who receive more than three lashes are usually in a state of shock and their buttocks are covered in blood. Many collapse from the ordeal.
The Singapore Police Force statement said the cases served as a good warning to all foreigners or locals alike who were thinking of earning easy money by dallying in such criminal activities.
“Regardless of their role or involvement, police will take such criminal elements to task and ensure that they are dealt with appropriately in accordance with our laws,” the statement said.
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