‘Bookie’ jailed for Hong Kong betting spree

A 69-year-old Singapore man has been sentenced to four weeks’ jail after admitting to operating an illegal betting operation on Hong Kong horse races at a public housing block in the city state.

Ng Sea Beng was arrested on May 6 where police seized more than S$4000 in cash, a betting slip and a pen after finding him taking bets on Hong Kong races.

Court documents showed Ng chose the location because residents knew him and the tables and chairs at the block provided a convenient place to gather, with S$2500 in cash used as operating capital.

Over about two hours, Ng accepted bets from at least three punters on five races and generated turnover of S$1550 before police intervened.

Officers arrested Ng and three other men who were watching the races with him and confiscated the cash and betting paraphernalia.

Prosecutors sought a jail term of between four and eight weeks, arguing the operation was conducted openly in a public place despite not being sophisticated or part of a syndicate.

Ng, who represented himself, told the court through a Hokkien interpreter that he suffered from leg problems that affected his mobility.

The court imposed the minimum four-week custodial sentence required for the offence, which under Singapore’s Gambling Control Act carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a S$200,000 fine, or both.