1st member of syndicate that won $433k at MBS casino jailed

SINGAPORE — A Malaysian man who was part of a foreign syndicate that unlawfully used devices to record cards during games at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino was sentenced to three years and four months' jail on Nov 22.

The group, which operated in Singapore from Dec 16 to 23, 2022, won a total of $433,730 at the tables.

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind here, Malaysian Tan Kian Yi, 35, pleaded guilty in October to four charges under the Casino Control Act.

Two of Tan's alleged accomplices — Taiwanese Hung Jung-Hao, 27, and Malaysian Chai Hee Keong, 46 — were charged in a Singapore district court earlier in 2023 and their cases are pending.

Three other Taiwanese are said to be the other members of the syndicate, but court documents did not disclose if they were arrested.

They are Hung's girlfriend, Chou Yu-Lun, 26; Wang Yu, 22; and his girlfriend, Hung Yu-Wen, 24.

The group's strategy involved a female syndicate member, known as the "sorcerer", wearing a concealed earphone connected to her mobile phone via Bluetooth at a gaming table in the casino.

She would relay information on the cards to an accomplice stationed elsewhere.

This accomplice, known as the "marksman", would feed the information into an Excel spreadsheet formula to get an answer, and then tell the "sorcerer" how to place her bet.

Court documents did not state how the formula worked. Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Shao Yan earlier told the court that the formula was developed by a man known only as Kelvin.

In August 2022, Tan met Hung Yu-Wen for the first time when he visited a casino in the Philippines, and she introduced him to Wang. She asked Tan if he was interested to win cash playing the baccarat card game.

He met the couple in Singapore in October 2022, and the trio stayed at the MBS hotel and made trips to the casino to observe baccarat games.

Hung Yu-Wen later told Tan that she had a "formula" that could help them win at baccarat, and Tan agreed to join them.

The woman taught Tan how to use the formula and gave him a set of codes to memorise. These codes referred to the values and suits of the cards in baccarat games.

She told Tan that he would be keying the codes into the Excel sheet after someone transmitted information to him. At Tan's request, she allowed his close friend Chai to join the syndicate, said the DPP.

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In December 2022, the two Malaysian men went to an MBS hotel room to meet Hung Yu-Wen and Wang. There, the Malaysians also met Hung Jung-Hao and Chou for the first time.

Each of them then played a role in committing the offences at the MBS casino.

Among other things, Hung Yu-Wen and Tan took turns to be the "marksman". She also took turns with Chou to take on the role of "sorcerer".

The offences came to light when casino staff watched closed-circuit television footage and noticed the syndicate members' conduct.

On Dec 24, 2022, Hung Jung-Hao went to the casino alone to gamble and police arrested him soon after.

Suspecting he had been caught when he became uncontactable, the other syndicate members left Singapore the following day.

Police later seized casino chips worth more than $790,000 from their rooms.

Tan was arrested in Kuala Lumpur in February 2023, and was taken back to Singapore. He has made no restitution.

The State Courts in Singapore had earlier issued a warrant of arrest against Chai after he returned to Malaysia.

The Singapore police said their Malaysian counterparts arrested him in June, and he was later taken back to the Republic. He was charged in court soon after.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.