India, Dec. 29 -- A Singapore man borrowed S$250,000 ( Rs.1.7 crore) from a moneylending company and ended up having to repay nearly S$21 million ( Rs.146 crore) due to high interest rates and other penalties.

According to a report in The Strait Times, the man not only saw his debt balloon to S$21 million but also lost his home.

The Singapore man, who was not named in the report, borrowed S$250,000 from a licensed moneylending company somewhere between 2010 and 2011. The company charged him an interest rate of 4% per month.

He was also charged late payment interest of 8% per month, and was handed a late payment processing fee of S$2,500 per month for the initial loan.

In just four years, due to these levies and the high interest rate,...