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17-year-old waiting to enter poly was tending to shop for ill parents
Teen turns shop into gambling den
April 17, 2009
ARRESTED: The girl being taken away by the police. PICTURE:LIANHE WANBAO
SHE tended the shop for her sick parents - and turned a portion of it into a gambling den.
The 17-year-old girl allegedly did this while waiting to further her studies at a polytechnic.
The police raided the den at Block 122, Bedok North, Street 2, on Tuesday at about 8.50pm and she was arrested under the Common Gaming House Act, said a police spokesman.
Two customers and a male accomplice believed to be her boyfriend were also arrested. Her accomplice is believed to be doing his national service.
A police spokesman added that investigations are ongoing.
Among the items seized were 20 computers and cash of $630.
Police officers had to force open a glass window when the teenager refused to let them in.
A small room at the back of the shop was used for gambling. There was only one way in - through a door at the back. The door was always kept locked.
According to a Lianhe Wanbao report, the girl would be stationed behind the locked door after the shop closed. Only those who called the girl beforehand would be allowed in.
Customers screened
There was a CCTV which would capture the image of the customer wanting to enter the den.
The girl would then check the identity of the caller before opening the metal lock on the door.
If she was unsure of the customer, she would inform her male accomplice, who would then go to the back alley to check.
The customers were mostly housewives and foreign workers, who allegedly used the computers to play slot-machine games. They would tot up their winnings or losses and pay at a counter.
It is not known how big the bets were, but Lianhe Wanbao reported that any amount was accepted.
The girl's parents are both ill and had asked her to help look after the shop for them.
In the day, she would help her mother to run the shop selling incense and Buddhist prayer items.
The girl's mother is suffering from cancer and her father is a stroke patient.
Her mother allegedly did not know anything about the gambling den.
She said that when her condition worsened a month ago and she could not run the business by herself, she roped in her daughter.
Her husband had a stroke last year and she also has to stay home to take care of him.
Before the police took the teenager away, she made sure that the doors and windows of the shop were locked. She even told the police to turn off the lights in the shop.
One man who was arrested in the raid seemed to be a resident in the area.
The jobless man's arrest shocked his wife, who had expected him to return home for dinner.
When he failed to show up, she went downstairs, only to find her husband being led away by police in handcuffs.
Her husband looked to be about 50 years old.
'How can he gamble?' she asked a reporter at the scene, adding that he'd lost his job a few months ago.
'He promised to be home for dinner at 7pm. My children and I were waiting for him. He did not even call, so I had no choice but to look for him and I saw him being arrested. Never did I think that he would be arrested.'
17-year-old waiting to enter poly was tending to shop for ill parents
Teen turns shop into gambling den
April 17, 2009
ARRESTED: The girl being taken away by the police. PICTURE:LIANHE WANBAO
SHE tended the shop for her sick parents - and turned a portion of it into a gambling den.
The 17-year-old girl allegedly did this while waiting to further her studies at a polytechnic.
The police raided the den at Block 122, Bedok North, Street 2, on Tuesday at about 8.50pm and she was arrested under the Common Gaming House Act, said a police spokesman.
Two customers and a male accomplice believed to be her boyfriend were also arrested. Her accomplice is believed to be doing his national service.
A police spokesman added that investigations are ongoing.
Among the items seized were 20 computers and cash of $630.
Police officers had to force open a glass window when the teenager refused to let them in.
A small room at the back of the shop was used for gambling. There was only one way in - through a door at the back. The door was always kept locked.
According to a Lianhe Wanbao report, the girl would be stationed behind the locked door after the shop closed. Only those who called the girl beforehand would be allowed in.
Customers screened
There was a CCTV which would capture the image of the customer wanting to enter the den.
The girl would then check the identity of the caller before opening the metal lock on the door.
If she was unsure of the customer, she would inform her male accomplice, who would then go to the back alley to check.
The customers were mostly housewives and foreign workers, who allegedly used the computers to play slot-machine games. They would tot up their winnings or losses and pay at a counter.
It is not known how big the bets were, but Lianhe Wanbao reported that any amount was accepted.
The girl's parents are both ill and had asked her to help look after the shop for them.
In the day, she would help her mother to run the shop selling incense and Buddhist prayer items.
The girl's mother is suffering from cancer and her father is a stroke patient.
Her mother allegedly did not know anything about the gambling den.
She said that when her condition worsened a month ago and she could not run the business by herself, she roped in her daughter.
Her husband had a stroke last year and she also has to stay home to take care of him.
Before the police took the teenager away, she made sure that the doors and windows of the shop were locked. She even told the police to turn off the lights in the shop.
One man who was arrested in the raid seemed to be a resident in the area.
The jobless man's arrest shocked his wife, who had expected him to return home for dinner.
When he failed to show up, she went downstairs, only to find her husband being led away by police in handcuffs.
Her husband looked to be about 50 years old.
'How can he gamble?' she asked a reporter at the scene, adding that he'd lost his job a few months ago.
'He promised to be home for dinner at 7pm. My children and I were waiting for him. He did not even call, so I had no choice but to look for him and I saw him being arrested. Never did I think that he would be arrested.'
