5 years jail, S$288,000 fine for hawker stall helper who turned to crime to pay for daughter’s medical fees
Lim collected S$10 million to S$20 million in illegal 4D and Toto bets for over nine years, after his daughter was diagnosed with kidney failure and hepatitis C.
SINGAPORE — A hawker stall helper who turned to collecting illegal 4D and Toto bets to pay for his daughter’s medical bills was sentenced to five years in jail and fined S$288,000 on Tuesday (Jan 15).
When meting out the sentencing for Lim Teng Kok, 68, District Judge Ng Peng Hong said he took into consideration that the accused is a “loving father”, among other factors.
Lim collected S$10 million to S$20 million in illegal 4D and Toto bets for over nine years, after his daughter was diagnosed with kidney failure and hepatitis C.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Jia had previously sought a jail sentence of five years and four months and a fine of S$288,000, while Lim’s lawyer, Mr Steven Lam, had asked for a jail sentence of no more than four years and a S$200,000 fine for his client.
Mr Lam on Tuesday made applications for Lim to pay his fine in 12 monthly installments of S$24,000 each starting from Feb 1, and start serving his sentence on Feb 12 after spending Chinese New Year with his family. Both requests were granted by the judge.
Lim remains out on bail with S$15,000.
Last December, the court heard that Lim had at least 16 agents working under him and earned a total of S$290,000 to S$349,000 in commission from his role in an online gambling ring, said to be one of the largest syndicates uncovered in Singapore to date.
The syndicate had wider links to a remote gambling group run by three brothers — Eric Seet, 63, Steven Seet, 54, and Philip Seet, 71 — who are shareholders of two illegal gambling websites, asure6.net and 888pool.net.
As a demonstration of the scale of its operations, Ms Teo said about S$26.64 million in bets was routed through the syndicate in the five months between June and November 2016.
In that hearing on Dec 14, Lim pleaded guilty to five charges: One under the Common Gaming Houses Act, one under the Remote Gambling Act, and three under the Organised Crime Act.
During mitigation that same day, Lim broke down in court, shouting “Stop it!” when his lawyer was recounting the financial stress that apparently made him resort to crime.
Mr Lam was recounting how Lim was earning about S$1,800 a month as a hawker stall helper, and only began helping a friend called Ah Tee collect 4D bets in 2015 when his daughter – who was 19 then – suffered from kidney failure and was hospitalised for 44 days.
At the time, Lim felt he could not cope with the medical bills even with help from social welfare organisations, said Mr Lam.
Lim eventually donated one of his kidneys to his daughter in 2009 when she overcame hepatitis C.
He also had to shoulder the medical expenses of his wife, who contracted pneumonia in 2011 and still suffers from other conditions, and his mother, before she died in 2012.
Lim’s own health was poor too, Mr Lam said, as he urged the court to temper justice with compassion.
Lim was among 49 people apprehended in November 2016. His direct boss since 2007, a 62-year-old man named Lean Kay Chong, whom Lim met through Ah Tee, was also among those arrested.
Lim is the third person from the syndicate to have been dealt with so far.
Another of Lean’s agents, Or Poh Soon, was sentenced to two years’ jail and a fine of S$50,000. The 55-year-old newspaper vendor earned about S$62,000 in commissions between 2013 and 2016.
A runner for Lean, Seah Ee Lam, 67, was sentenced to three years and four months’ jail and fined S$108,000. He collected bets from Lean’s agents or punters, and distributed winnings to them between 2009 and 2015.
