Singapore's Chua Lai Huat Sentenced to One Year in Prison For Cheating
A 66-year-old man was sentenced to 12 months in a Singaporean prison after pleading guilty to colluding with three croupiers to cheat in three-card poker at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino.
According to The Straights Times, Singaporean national Chua Lai Huat plead guilty to 10 of the 36 counts to District Judge Lee Poh Choo.
The scheme is reported to have involved Chua marking aces and kings in the deck used during the game, which are deemed some of the game's most valuable cards. He is then alleged to have recruited three different croupiers to flash the last card in the game, which is helpful for a player to decide whether or not to continue with their hand.
Last month, two of the men involved with this fraudulent scheme were also sentenced to prison. Chinese national Zhang Zhijiu (age 40) was sentenced to an eight-month prison sentence, while Malaysian Choo Hui Yong (age 27) received a four-month sentence.
The third croupier, Sun Shihong (age 38) from China, has yet to be sentenced as he is currently on the run from authorities.
It is further reported that in over a month, Chua netted S$12,915 ($9,141) as a result of this scheme, however, the defendant's lawyer, Ronald Ng, noted in court that overall his client lost money and owes the casino S$45,000 ($31,850).
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jean Ting, Chua was arrested on July 14, 2015, after being caught in action by an RWS surveillance manager while playing at a three-card poker table with Zhang flashing cards.
The surveillance team then reviewed tapes from the previous month to uncover hundreds of other instances where the cheating and collusion took place at the casino.
Chua may have gotten off lightly, as the Singaporean court system is well-known throughout the world for handing out stiff sentences. The charges that Chua was facing could have subject him to be jailed for up to seven years for each charge, along with a hefty fine of S$150,000 ($106,170).
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org
Want to stay atop all the latest in the poker world? If so, make sure to get PokerNews updates on your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and find us on both Facebook and Google+!
