Illegal soccer bookie caught with $146,000 on him, pleads guilty

[Samurai]

Illegal soccer bookie caught with $146,000 on him, pleads guilty

Published on Mar 21, 2012

A vegetable seller, who moonlighted as a soccer bookie, had $146,000 on him when he was arrested in 2011. In a district court on Wednesday, Goh Weng Soon admitted that the amount was his collection for the week. The 38-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts of acting as an illegal bookmaker and will be sentenced on April 12. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

By Khushwant Singh

A vegetable seller, who moonlighted as a soccer bookie, had $146,000 on him when he was arrested in 2011. In a district court on Wednesday, Goh Weng Soon admitted that the amount was his collection for the week.

The 38-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 counts of acting as an illegal bookmaker and will be sentenced on April 12. District Judge Wong Peck will take into consideration 21 other similar charges then.

Describing the illegal operation as 'undeniably big', Assistant Public Prosecutor N.K. Anitha said that Goh stood to earn more than $80,000 on the nearly $288,000 of bets placed between Feb 1 and March 7, 2011 - the period covered by the 32 charges.

However, court documents indicated that he had been a soccer bookie for more than two years.

He had been recruited by a Malaysian identified only as Ah Kok and earned a commission of 30 cents for every dollar collected in bets.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[hokkien]

Hokkien wonderwill the fine be more than $146000?

 

[Ganesha]

Possiblity is double or triple the amount earn IMO.

 

[chowka]

Football bookie jailed and fined S$390,000
Posted: 12 April 2012 1725 hrs

SINGAPORE: A vegetable seller, who worked as an illegal football bookie on the side, was sentenced to one year's jail and fined S$390,000 on Thursday.

38-year-old Goh Weng Soon, who accepted bets totalling nearly S$288,000, was charged with 11 counts of acting as an illegal bookmaker.

Goh, who assisted his father as a store assistant at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre, also moonlighted as a bookie for more than two years.

He accepted bets for international matches on more than 30 occasions between February to March last year.

The bets varied between S$100 and S$26,000 each time.

His misdeeds came to light when police received a tip-off.

Goh was arrested at a flat in Strathmore Road in March last year and S$146,000 in cash was seized.

For acting as a bookmaker, he could have been jailed up to five years and fined up to S$200,000 on each count.

- CNA/al