CHANNEL NEWSASIA
A member of a syndicate that offered illegal private bets for baccarat games at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore has been sentenced to six months’ jail and fined S$60,000.
Between March and June, Goh Boon Kwang offered insurance bets to gamblers in room 302 at the resort’s Paiza Club—a facility for high rollers.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Ruth Wong said insurance bets were common as a hedge against losing bets in certain casino table games. Such bets were legal provided they were allowed by the jurisdiction, authorised by the casino and that the appropriate tax had been levied on the bet. The bets in this case were a private arrangement where the casino and the taxman were left out of the deal and only the unauthorised organisers stood to benefit.
Forty-three-year-old Goh, who used to operate a reflexology business but is now jobless, pleaded guilty to two of five charges against him.
He is the second member of the syndicate to be dealt with in court for the offence. One of his accomplices, a 26-year-old known only as ‘Ricki’, an Indonesian odd-job labourer, was sentenced to four months’ jail and fined S$50,000 in July.
Two other alleged accomplices have already been charged in court and their cases are still pending. They are 48-year-old Lee Chin Chuan and an alleged runner, Ang Keng Peng.
DPP Wong said that Lee had a VIP membership at the casino and in March, it’s believed he decided to offer the illegal side bets to make some money. Based on court documents, Goh had spotted Lee offering the bets to players and approached him as he wanted to be part of the plan.
The prosecution said that Goh would get up to S$200 per bet if the player using the insurance bet was actually successful on his main bet. Goh had to bear the cost if the gambler lost on his main bet.
It’s believed Lee involved three other men, including ‘Ricki’ and Ang, to work for him, and he allegedly agreed to pay each of these runners up to S$150 a day.
DPP Wong said that by allegedly offering these insurance bets, Lee made a profit of about S$30,000. Goh made S$6,000 by acting as a bookmaker.
Goh, Lee and ‘Ricki’ were arrested at the MBS casino in a raid on 14th June when the authorities seized items from them including cash totalling more than S$72,000.
RelatedPosts
