SINGAPORE: A man who ran an illegal gambling
business was sentenced on Monday for bribing nine police officers,
one of whom was in charge of the Secret Societies Branch of the
Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Fifty-five-year-old Chua Chin Hoe was jailed four
and a half years and fined S$20,000, for his
involvement.
Chua had committed 66 offences, including 62 counts
of corruption.
He pleaded guilty to six counts of corruption and one count of
contravening the Common Gaming Houses Act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Christine Liu described Chua as a
"colourful character".
The self-employed man operated a string of illegal gaming cafes
across the country from the nineties to 2007.
He ran unlicensed jackpot outlets, where he would lease shop spaces
and install illegal jackpot machines there.
When authorities started clamping down on illegal jackpot
activities, he switched to internet cafes which offered illegal
gambling services.
At the height of his operations, Chua operated 15 of such outlets
daily.
More than S$237,000 of illegal proceeds were seized by authorities
from Chua's eight bank accounts.
To distance himself from the operations, he made use of scapegoats
to safeguard himself against enforcement raids.
He also bribed nine police officers to protect his gambling
business.
They included Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mark Koh
Kian Tiong, Staff Sergeant Steven Tan Chee Kwong, Staff Sergeant
David Lim Kay Heng, Staff Sergeant Chong Soon Ping and Sergeant
Teng Jing King.
Nearly half of them were attached to the CID's Secret Societies
Branch.
The court heard that ASP Mark Koh is currently on the run and has
since fled the country.
Chua had met some of the officers in 2003, and they started meeting
up for drinking and KTV sessions, in what DPP Liu described as
"strategic networking."
The officers were aware that Chua was involved in secret societies
and illegal gambling outlets.
DPP Liu told the court that Chua began his "systematic bribing of
police officers" from 2006.
Chua bribed them with amounts ranging from S$400 to S$15,000, in
exchange for information on impending raids.
The officers also did not report any information on Chua's illegal
gambling activities to the Secret Societies Branch.
While running his illegal gambling cafes, Chua also met Abdul
Haleem Abdul Majeed, who was later hired to become a
scapegoat.
Abdul Haleem received between S$800 and S$5,600 on more than 26
occasions over two years.
Chua also paid Abdul Haleem S$26,500 to assume criminal liability
for six illegal outlets that were raided.
A 2007 raid at 303 Joo Chiat Road also found Chua to be operating
online casino gambling services from an internet cafe.
DPP Liu told the court that Chua had "a well thought-out system to
shield himself from liability from all sides."
District Judge Mr Low Wee Ping, in his sentencing, agreed with her
and noted the "sophistication" of Chua's scheme and the "massive"
number of charges.
The judge criticised Chua for corrupting the police officers and
his total disregard for the consequences.
The judge also denounced the corrupted police officers, saying they
were "a stain to Singapore's public service and the Singapore
Police Force."
Court documents revealed that Chua, who suffers from major
depression, has a history of similar offences dating all the way
back to 1974.
The court also heard that the seized sum of S$237,000 will be
forfeited to the state.
Chua's case is believed to be the biggest case of police bribery in
recent years.
In 1999, loanshark Chua Tiong Tiong, better known as Ah Long San,
was sentenced to 10 years' jail for bribing nine police
officers.
He had entertained the police officers at nightclubs and paid them
in exchange for information on his friends who were arrested.
- CNA/fa
