Singapore legislation
Clause 20
Clause 20
Note of moneylender’s contract to be given to borrower
(1)
No contract for a loan granted by a licensee, and no guarantee or security given by or on behalf of a borrower for the loan, shall be enforceable and no money paid by or on behalf of the licensee pursuant to the contract for the loan shall be recoverable in any court of law unless —
a note of the contract for the loan, in the prescribed form, is signed by the parties to the contract for the loan or their respective agents;
where the borrower or his agent does not understand the English language, the licensee or his agent explains the terms of the note of the contract for the loan to the borrower or his agent in a language the borrower or his agent, as the case may be, understands before he signs the note of the contract for the loan; and
a copy of the note of the contract for the loan, duly signed by the licensee or his agent, is delivered to the borrower or his agent before or at the time the loan is paid to the borrower or any other person on the direction of the borrower.
(2)
Any licensee who makes or causes to be made any note of a contract for a loan in which the principal or rate of interest is, to the knowledge of the licensee, not stated or not truly stated shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —
to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both; and
in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $40,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3)
This section shall not apply to any loan on revolving credit that may be drawn down and repaid by the borrower or his agent at any time and from time to time subject to a limit approved by the licensee.