S
Sun Quan
Guest
Jun 16, 2011
Trio charged with accepting private bets in casino
By Khushwant Singh
Three men were charged in a district court on Thursday for acting as bookmakers in the Marina Bay Sands casino. Singaporeans Lee Chin Chuan, 47, and Goh Boon Kwang, 43, and Ricki, 26, an Indonesian who goes with only one name, were ordered to be remanded till Thursday when their cases will be mentioned again. They are alleged to have committed the offence on Tuesday in Paiza Room 801 of the casino. -- ST PHOTO: BRYAN VAN DER BEEK
THREE men were charged in a district court on Thursday for acting as bookmakers in the Marina Bay Sands casino.
Singaporeans Lee Chin Chuan, 47, and Goh Boon Kwang, 43, and Ricki, 26, an Indonesian who goes with only one name, were ordered to be remanded till Thursday when their cases will be mentioned again.
They are alleged to have committed the offence on Tuesday in Paiza Room 801 of the casino. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the police said that they were arrested at 5pm.
Investigations by officers of the Casino Crime Investigation Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) indicated that the trio, believed to be syndicate members, approached patrons at the Paiza Club and offered them illegal 'insurance bets' for baccarat games between April and June this year.
Items seized from them included more than $46,000 worth in casino chips, cash amounting to $78,000 and a cheques with a value of $100,000.
So far, at least three other persons have been charged with acting as illegal bookmakers offering private bets to punters. In this case, these are said to be in the form of 'insurance' bets which are private wagers made with bookmakers, not the house.
For example, in baccarat, punters bet on player or banker. The winning hand is the one with the highest points, out of a possible nine, after drawing up to three cards.
If the player's hand has seven points, punters can wager separately with illegal bookmakers that the banker does not get eight or nine points. If that is the case, bookmakers pay up to four times the bet placed with them.
If the player's hand has nine points, these bookmakers are known to pay up to nine times the wager that the banker does not tie the game with nine points.
