PRC Gambler jailed for cheating at RWS

[Lu Bu]

Apr 19, 2010
Gambler jailed for cheating

<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
A CHINESE national became the first person to be convicted of attempted cheating at a gambling table at Resorts World Sentosa. Hou Yongwei, 26, was jailed for 10 months on Monday for trying to cheat by placing chips valued at $600 on the winning bet of a single digit number 4 in the game of Tai Sai, after the result had been declared on March 28. Hou, who pleaded guilty earlier this month, had intentionally placed his chips worth $600 on the winning bet after the casino dealer had lifted up the cover of a tumbler to declare the result to be tripe 4.

The dealer spotted Hou's act and informed his supervisor who reported to the security manager. The security manager viewed the CCTV footages and confirmed that Hou had placed his bet on the winning number after the result had been declared. Agreeing with the prosecution that a stiff sentence was called for, District Judge Ronald Gwee said a strong message must be sent out to all potential cheats at gaming tables that the courts would impose substantial sentences on such offenders to deter like-minded persons. Hou could have been jailed for up to five years.

 

[Lu Bu]

PRC Gambler jailed for 10 months

Apr 20, 2010
Casino cheat jailed

He placed bet on Tai Sai game after winning number was declared

By Elena Chong <!-- by line -->

<!-- end by line --> <!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> A CHINESE national who placed a late bet of $600 on a game at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) was jailed for 10 months yesterday for trying to cheat the casino. The conviction is the first involving a conman at the casino since RWS opened its doors on Feb 14. In sending Hou Yongwei to jail, District Judge Ronald Gwee agreed with the prosecution that a deterrent sentence was needed to send a clear message that such crimes would not be tolerated. Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Ngoh told the court that had the surveillance team not picked up what Hou did at the table, he would have got away with the offence on March 28.

Referring to the 26-year-old, DPP Ngoh said: 'He had done all that he had to do to cheat the dealer and the only reason why he did not succeed was due to the vigilance of the dealer and the casino surveillance team.' Hou, who has lost his job as a construction worker since his arrest on March 28, had placed $600 worth of chips on a game of Tai Sai, or Big Small, a game of chance played with three dice.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.
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[lauhumku]

Man from China first to be convicted of casino fraud

Man from China first to be convicted of casino fraud
20 Apr 2010
Source: The Straits Times

A CHINESE national who placed a late bet of $600 on a game at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) was jailed for 10 months yesterday for trying to cheat the casino.

The conviction is the first involving a conman at the casino since RWS opened its doors on Feb 14.

In sending Hou Yongwei to jail, District Judge Ronald Gwee agreed with the prosecution that a deterrent sentence was needed to send a clear message that such crimes would not be tolerated.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Ngoh told the court that had the surveillance team not picked up what Hou did at the table, he would have got away with the offence on March 28.

Referring to the 26-year-old, DPP Ngoh said: “He had done all that he had to do to cheat the dealer and the only reason why he did not succeed was due to the vigilance of the dealer and the casino surveillance team.”

Hou, who has lost his job as a construction worker since his arrest on March 28, had placed $600 worth of chips on a game of Tai Sai, or Big Small, a game of chance played with three dice.

However, Hou, who was sitting right in front of the dealer, placed his bet only when the winning number was declared. He would have won $6,000 had the dealer not caught him in the act.

The dealer alerted his supervisor who in turn told the casino’s security manager about Hou’s attempt to cheat.

The security manager then took a look at the video footage from the security cameras and confirmed what the dealer had spotted: Hou had indeed placed a late bet after the result was declared – an act known as past posting.

DPP Ngoh said in his submission before sentencing yesterday that if such offences were not nipped in the bud, Singapore’s “global branding as a clean, honest, safe and law-abiding place to live in” would be tarnished.

Pleading for leniency, Hou told the court that he had acted on impulse and regretted his “big mistake”.

“I wasn’t in a clear mind then because it was past midnight, but later when my mind became clearer, I knew what I had done. I had been gambling for the whole night, and I also had a bit to drink,” he said in Mandarin.

Judge Gwee warned all potential cheats at gaming tables that the courts took a dim view of such offences and would impose severe sentences to deter those like Hou.

“If there is evidence of pre-planning and collusion with other accomplices or where sophisticated means are employed in the offences...the sentences meted out will be even more severe,” he said.

Hou could have been jailed for up to five years for attempted cheating.