22 suspects arrested at Geylang and Yishun for gambling activities

22 suspects arrested at Geylang and Yishun for gambling activities

SINGAPORE - The police have arrested 22 suspects aged between 35 and 78 in two separate raids conducted across the island for assisting in operating and gaming in illegal gambling dens.

In the first raid, four suspects were arrested by officers from the Ang Mo Kio Police Division in a seven-hour operation at a unit located along Yishun Street 72.

One of the suspect was arrested in the vicinity for possession of obscene materials and suspected consumption of controlled drugs. He was believed to be on the way to the illegal gambling den.

17 modified computers, other gaming paraphernalia and cash amounting to about $400 were seized as case exhibits.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the 65-year-old suspect was responsible for managing the unit for the purpose of gambling while the remaining two suspects were believed to be patrons. Investigations against the remaining suspect, 55, are still on-going.

In the second raid, officers from both Bedok Police Division and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) arrested 18 suspects in a shophouse along Geylang Road, where two of the units masqueraded as an association.

Preliminary investigation revealed that two of the suspects were assisting in operating the said association as an illegal gambling den, while the rest were gambling den patrons.

Six mahjong tables and six sets of mahjong tiles were seized as case exhibits.

15 of the suspects from both raids will be charged in court on August 16, while investigations against the remaining suspects are on-going.

Any person found guilty of Assisting To Manage A Place Used As A Common Gaming House under Section 4(1) (c) of the Common Gaming Houses Act, shall be fined up to $50,000 and shall also be punished a jail term up to three years.

As for the patrons, any person convicted of an offence of Gaming in a Common Gaming House under Section 7 of the Common Gaming Houses Act, shall be liable on conviction to a fine up to $5,000 or a jail term up to six months, or both.

grongloh@sph.com.sg

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