Singapore businessman 'Fatty Loo' found dead in China
AsiaOne
Wednesday, Aug 31, 2011
Singaporean businessman and lawyer Loo Choon Beng was found dead in Guangzhou, China earlier this month.
Sources told The Straits Times that the 57-year-old was found in his hotel room bed on August 3 or August 4.
The former Raffles Institution (RI) student is speculated to have either died in his sleep or from complications from health problems, including diabetes and high cholesterol.
Mr Loo, who won a gold medal in judo in the 1975 South-east Asia Peninsula (Seap) Games, was reportedly behind the first high-tech baccarat casino scam in the Philippines.
Asian media reported that he and three others had allegedly used hidden cameras to cheat at baccarat games in three casinos run by state-gaming firm - Philippine Amusement and gaming Corp (Pagcor).
They cheated the firm of about 160 million pesos (S$4.5 million) in May this year.
The three were arrested and detained but fled the country after posting bail.
The funeral is believed to have been attended only by very close friends and a few family members.
Background on Loo Choon Beng
Mr Loo was well known in horse-riding circles in Singapore as 'Fatty Loo' because of his physique.
In the 1980s he owned more than 50 horses and was a familiar figure at race meetings in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang.
In 2000, the divorcee and father of two daughters was held under Malaysia's preventive detention laws for his alleged involvement in fixing the outcome of horse races at Malaysian turf clubs.
1988
# Allegedly spat in a Singapore Airlines stewardess' face, after she accidentally spilt a soft drink on him during a flight from Hong Kong to Singapore
# Accused of grabbing her arm, turning her around violently and raising his arm and threatening to slap her
# The case was settled out of court
1995
# Suspended from legal practice for three years for misconduct
1996
# OCBC Bank filed a suit against him and a fellow lawyer for an $80.6 million loan which they failed to repay
# Sued by OCBC for not paying back a $4.5 million personal loan
2001
# OCBC moved to declare him a bankrupt