Father and son who led Singapore-based gambling syndicate jailed and fined S$800,000 in total

SINGAPORE — A father and son duo, who were leaders of a Singapore-based transnational gambling syndicate that took bets based on legal Singapore Pools lotteries, were jailed and issued fines totalling S$800,000 on Tuesday (Dec 15).

Ow Choon Bok, 44, was given five years' jail and a fine of S$500,000, while his father Ow Gowan Hock, 73, was jailed for three-and-a-half years and fined S$300,000. 

If they cannot pay the fines, they will have to serve additional jail terms of 10 months and six months respectively. 

The crimes spanned seven years from 2009, with the pair dealing with S$889,814 between June 2016 and November 2016 alone. 

They admitted to conspiring to provide Singapore-based remote gambling services, some of which were through an illegal website, the now-defunct ss772.net.

They took bets based on public lotteries, such as the "10,000 characters lottery" for the Singapore Pools' 4D and Toto games.

Choon Bok's role was to manage administrative staff who keyed in bets into the illegal website. He also ensured the site operated smoothly, and accepted bets on the outcome of the Singapore Pools' 4D and Toto games on the respective betting days of the week.

He accepted bets on the outcomes of the games on every draw date between December 2009 and November 2016, which includes Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for the 4D games, and Mondays and Thursdays for Toto.

He also dealt with prize monies paid or staked by punters on the website and created accounts for punters or agents on the site.

Between June 2016 and November 2016, he allowed a syndicate to use his unit in Johor Bahru to aid in the running of the illegal gambling services.

Choon Bok's father abetted his crimes by helping him in the running of the illegal betting site, including allowing bet monies to be deposited into his bank accounts.

When the crimes were uncovered, Choon Bok was found to have stashed illegal proceeds of S$57,000 in a Punggol flat in Edgedale Plains.

Gowan Hock pleaded guilty to two charges under the Remote Gambling Act and Organised Crime Act, with another two charges considered in sentencing. 

OLDER MAN HAD BEEN FINED FOR ILLEGAL GAMBLING SINCE 1970

His son admitted to six charges under various acts including the Remote Gambling Act, Organised Act and Common Gaming Houses Act. An additional 13 charges were taken into consideration.

The court heard that Choon Bok had no prior convictions, but his father had received multiple fines since 1970 for gambling in a public or common gaming house. The fines ranged from S$30 to S$1,000 between 1970 and 1992.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo asked for at least four years' jail and a fine of S$600,000 for Gowan Hock, saying that both men were at the apex of the syndicate and were leaders of their respective websites.

The defence said that the fines sought of S$600,000 for Gowan Hock and S$800,000 for his son were highly excessive and punitive. 

In mitigation, the older Ow's lawyer pointed to his client's guilty plea, contributions to charity and illnesses in his old age in mitigation.

The judge said the prosecution was seeking a total fine of S$1.4 million for both men, when the best evidence available showed only that profits earned were about S$800,000.

"I'm of the view that the fines should not exceed S$800,000," he said. He noted that the syndicate was a transnational one and backdated the sentences to April this year, when both men were remanded.

When Gowan Hock's lawyer said the family wishes to have two weeks to consider if they can pay his fine, the judge responded that he has more than three years to pay the fine, as long as it is paid by the time he is released from jail. CNA

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