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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.
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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.
weehingthong 