SINGAPORE, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Singapore Parliament is moving the bill on money lending aimed at strengthening measures to tackle loan shark activities in Singapore, local media reported on Tuesday.

    Speaking in Parliament, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee said the main focus is to give legal powers to disrupt the finances that sustain loan shark operations, local TV broadcaster Channel News Asia reported.

    Among them are mandatory caning for first time offenders who hurt people or damage properties and a framework to freeze assets.

    Ho explained that freezing assets will hurt loan sharks where it matters most and disrupt the criminal proceeds. Such a freezing order is applicable to proceeds of loan sharking in the form of cash, shares, bank accounts as well as physical assets such as houses and vehicles.

    He explained that despite several measures in 2005, loan shark activities persist. There were 11,879 cases in 2008 and 18,645 cases last year.

    He stressed that Singapore needs measures that will choke the supply of funds and availability of foot soldiers, target the irresponsible borrowers and take loan sharks out of the system for as long as it is needed. To cripple the many layers of a loan shark syndicate, Ho warned that anyone who facilitates a loan sharking operation will be punished.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis