Four Taiwanese have been implicated in an alleged card-counting scheme that defrauded a Singaporean casino of S$433,730 (US$317,495), the Straits Times reported.
The group of gamblers, described as a “foreign syndicate” consisting of four Taiwanese and two Malaysians, allegedly used concealed Bluetooth communication devices and Excel spreadsheets to win card games at the Marina Bay Sands casino in December last year, the newspaper reported last week, citing court documents.
The technologically enabled breach of Singapore’s Casino Control Act was the first of its kind in the city-state, the paper said.
Photo: Bloomberg
BACK AND FORTH
Under the scheme, a female syndicate member, designated as “The Sorcerer,” would use a concealed Bluetooth earpiece connected to her mobile phone to transmit information on the cards being dealt at a table, the Straits Times said.
An accomplice, known as “The Marksman,” would then input that information into a spreadsheet to calculate the odds for an optimal bet, which would then be relayed back to The Sorcerer, it said.
Court documents did not disclose details about the formula used in the spreadsheet, it added.
CO-CONSPIRATORS
A Malaysian man identified as Tan Kian-yi, 35, on Tuesday last week pleaded guilty to four charges under the Casino Control Act, the newspaper said.
Taiwanese Hung Jung-hao, 27, and Malaysian Chai Hee-keong, 46, were indicted as Tan’s co-conspirators earlier this year, it said, adding that their cases are pending.
Three other Taiwanese — Wang Yu, 22; his girlfriend, Hung yu-wen, 24; and Hung Jung-hao’s girlfriend, Chou Yu-lun, 26 — are also identified in court documents as alleged members of the syndicate, it said.
The outcomes of their cases were not disclosed in court documents, it added.
FORMULA
Tan’s lawyers said that there is no evidence to show that the betting formula could have affected the odds of a game, an argument the court rejected.
The Casino Control Act stipulates that card-counting is a crime punishable by a fine of up to S$150,000, and engaging in the activity as part of an organized act is punishable by a fine of up to S$300,000 and seven years in prison.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS