Newspaper vendor first to be convicted under Organised Crime Act for collecting illegal bets
SINGAPORE — Or Poh Soon, 55, was earning S$50 a day as a newspaper vendor operating outside Beauty World Centre when he was recruited by a regular customer, who turned out to be a bookie.
Jumping on the opportunity to earn more money, Or — who had previously placed illegal gambling bets before — helped him to collect illegal 4D and Toto bets totalling up to S$640,000 over four years.
On Friday (June 8), Or became the first person to be convicted under the Organised Crime Act, a new law aimed at fighting crime syndicates that came into effect in June 2016. He pleaded guilty to acting as an agent for 62-year-old Lean Kay Cheong — a shareholder and operator of a remote gambling website www.peng888.com – knowing that he had wider links to a syndicate.
He also admitted to two related charges under the Remote Gambling Act and Common Gaming Houses Act, of helping manage remote gambling by inviting others to bet on 4D and Toto, receiving and collecting bets, as well as communicating with those who placed them.
Or was one of 49 people who were caught in a police sting in November 2016 which saw a total of S$25.5 million seized by the authorities. He was also among the first six people charged a year later under the Organised Crime Act.
The court heard that Or got involved in the syndicate in January 2013 after Lean, who also faces charges, offered him a commission of eight per cent of the total bets collected. Lean also said that if his punters strike the lottery, he would get an additional five per cent of the winning sum.
Or sourced for his own punters by starting with his friends, who later introduced him to others as he built a pool of at least 20 regular punters. To get them on board, he offered cheaper rates than Singapore Pools, the state-owned lottery subsidiary company.
After collecting the bets, Or would send a text message to inform Lean. Lean would then arrange for his runner – 67-year-old Seah Ee Lam – to collect the illegal bets. Seah acted as the middleman for Lean to hand over prize monies to Or if punters won their bets.
Or eventually upped his collection per draw date from a few hundred dollars to between S$1,000 and S$2,000 over a period of two years. At his request, his commission was also increased to 10 per cent.
Based on the bets Or collected, Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Jia estimated that his commission could have been between S$34,512 and S$62,112 for the period between 2013 and November 2016, when he was arrested.
Court documents also stated that Lean's gambling website used workers based in Malaysia, and that there were three other directors besides Lean. He had 95 agents working for him, but only six — including Or — were arrested.
Bets were also transferred to other websites managed by three brothers – Eric Seet Seow Huat, 63, Steven Seet Seo Boon, 54, and Philip Seet Sian Thian, 71 – who were also charged and will be dealt with separately. DPP Teo said that the websites brought in a turnover of over S$1 million weekly.
Or's charge under the Organised Crime Act carries a maximum punishment of five years in jail and S$100,000 fine. DPP Teo told the court that she will be seeking two years' jail and a fine of S$40,000 in Or's case.
Or, who is out on S$15,000 bail, will return to court on June 27 for sentencing.
