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Jail for brains behind biggest fake casino chip scam

SINGAPORE — The mastermind behind the largest counterfeit casino chip scam here, which caused Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino to suffer about S$1.29 million in losses, was sentenced to 88 months’ jail on Wednesday (June 7).

A man walks past the Marina Bay Sands Casino entrance. TODAY file photo

A man walks past the Marina Bay Sands Casino entrance. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — The mastermind behind the largest counterfeit casino chip scam here, which caused Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino to suffer about S$1.29 million in losses, was sentenced to 88 months’ jail on Wednesday (June 7).

After a 14-day trial, Toh Hock Thiam, 55, was convicted of 13 counts of engaging in a conspiracy with three others to exchange counterfeit chips for cash at the MBS casino.

Another 161 similar charges under the Casino Control Act and one charge under the Immigration Act were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that between the evening of Nov 22, 2015, and the early hours of the following day, a total of 1,291 counterfeit casino chips — with a face value of S$1,000 each — were exchanged for cash at the MBS casino.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Asoka Markandu said the counterfeit chips were of such high quality that no one noticed they were fake until a cashier noticed a slight discolouration in one of the chips. Police investigations revealed that a syndicate was behind the scam, he added.

DPP Markandu noted that Toh was the mastermind as he had introduced the chips to Chia Wei Tien, one of the co-accused, and instructed the latter to recruit runners. “These runners were directed by Chia, based on instructions given by Toh, on how to go about carrying out the exchange of these counterfeit chips at MBS without raising alarm or being detected by MBS cashiers,” the DPP said.

Chia had recruited 16 runners. Toh also roped in his close friend Seow Piak Long to distribute the counterfeit chips and collect the cash from Chia. A total of 420 fake chips, worth about S$420,000, were traced to Toh.

Chia was sentenced to five years’ jail, while Seow was given one year in prison.

In urging the court to impose a jail term of not less than seven-and-a-half years, DPP Markandu cited several aggravating factors, including how Toh was the mastermind who coordinated the exchange of the counterfeit chips, and directly recruited Seow and Chia for the scam.

The losses suffered by MBS were also significant, including the “unquantifiable losses” that saw the casino’s surveillance team review CCTV footage, disruption to gaming activities when the S$1,000-denominated cash chips were recalled for a review.

Toh had also taken active steps to evade detection, such as illegally crossing the border into Malaysia after withdrawing all the money in his bank account. No restitution has been made, added DPP Markandu.

In meting out the sentence, the district judge said the offences were premeditated and well-planned. He also noted that the evidence from the trial showed the pivotal role Toh played in the scam.

Several cases of counterfeit casino cash chip scams have come to light in recent years, following the opening of two casinos in Singapore in 2010. In that year, for example, four people agreed to act as runners for a transnational counterfeit casino chip syndicate to convert 48 counterfeit S$1,000 chips into genuine ones of smaller denominations before exchanging them for cash.

Another case in 2011 saw several runners for a transnational syndicate placing bets using fake chips, each with a face value of S$1,000. The genuine chips that they won were exchanged for cash. A total of 287 counterfeit chips were seized.

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