Casino Related Crime

Another three foreigners arrested for casino-related crimes

Singapore has seen a spate of casino-related crimes committed mostly by foreigners since the Resorts World Sentosa casino was opened in February this year.

The first crime was committed by an Indonesian who stole the handphone of a Singapore student after losing money at the casino.

A month later, two Chinese nationals were fined $1,500 each for using someone else’s credit at a jackpot machine.

Last Saturday, three foreigners were arrested after being caught cheating at the roulette tables of Resorts World Sentosa’s casino, the Straits Times reports today.

They were a Spaniard and two French between the ages of 46 and 64 who almost made off with $13,400 in winnings.

A police spokesman told the media:

“Police do not tolerate any attempt by criminal elements to cheat and carry out criminal activities in the casinos and thereby affecting the safe gaming environment enjoyed by legitimate gamers.”

Resorts World Sentosa has become embroiled in a series of controversies since its opening.

There were questions raised about the number of Singapore citizens it employed as visitors to its casino revealed that most of them are foreigners.

RWS refused to make public the exact percentage of Singaporeans on its payroll except a vague statement that “70 percent” of its staff are “Singapore citizens and PRs.”

Two weeks ago, RWS’s Universal Studios Singapore theme park’s main attraction has to be shut down indefinitely due to a technical glitch found in the Battlestar Galactica roller-coaster ride during an inspection.

A series of concerts by celebrity singer Tom Jones scheduled at RWS were cancelled in the last-minute due to his purported ill-health.

With Marina Sands casino due to open later this month, RWS will have to contend with a strong competitor in a limited gaming market.

Not that all is going well with Las Vegas Sands either. The parent company was mired in debts and almost had to filed for bankruptcy in the midst of the global financial crisis last year.

One of its “person in charge” of a VIP room in Sands Macau Cheung Chi-tai was implicated in a murder plot.

According to testimony in previously undisclosed court transcripts obtained by Reuters, a witness identified Cheung as a leader of the Wo Hop To — one of the organized crime groups in the region known as triads.

The sensational news made international headlines with Reuters, Washington Post and New York Times carrying the story last week.

The two casinos are a brainchild of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong whose political fortunes may now hinge on how well the two perform in the coming months ahead.