Singapore’s Shin Min Daily News reported on Saturday that a Singaporean man became a 'bookie' and even roped in his father to engage in illegal activities. Over 9 months, they helped collect S$220,000 (about RM681,000) in underground gambling bets, earning S$12,000 (about RM37,100) in commissions.
The accused, Zheng Shunwang (age 33), faced three charges: obstructing the course of justice, breaching the Gambling Control Act, and violating copyright law. He admitted to two of the charges, while the remaining charge was taken into consideration by the judge. He was sentenced to 52 weeks in jail and fined S$5,000 (about RM15,478).
Another party involved was Zheng Shunwang’s father, Zheng Shunzhang, who passed away on May 31, 2024.
According to case details, before June 2023, the accused met a man named ‘Mike’ at a coffee shop. Later, Mike contacted the accused via the messaging app Telegram.
In June that year, ‘Mike’ invited the accused to become an agent, commonly known as a ‘bookie’, to help collect 4D and Toto bets. He promised the accused a 5% commission on the total amount of bets collected. In addition, if the accused placed bets himself, he would get a 7% to 8% rebate, and if one of his referred gamblers won, he could earn an extra few hundred dollars in bonuses.
The accused then began working for ‘Mike’ and recruited friends to place bets with him. Gradually, he had at least six gamblers under him. The accused would forward the betting details of the gamblers to ‘Mike’ via Telegram, collect cash from the gamblers, and then, as instructed, hand the money to an unidentified upstream agent.
Each week, someone would come to collect the bets. If a gambler won, the accused was also responsible for distributing the prize money.
In the second half of 2023, the accused told his father about the illegal gambling activities, and his father subsequently ‘joined in’ the operation. The two began to split responsibilities: the father was responsible for handing over the collected cash to the upstream agent, while the accused sorted out the betting details under both their names and forwarded them to ‘Mike’.
Investigations revealed that from June 26, 2023 to March 11, 2024, the accused continued to operate the aforementioned illegal gambling activities, collecting bets at least 3 to 4 days a week. In total, about S$222,641 (about RM689,204) in illegal bets was collected, earning a profit of about S$5,000 (about RM15,478), while the father earned about S$6,000 to S$7,000 (about RM18,573 to RM21,669).
Another party involved was Zheng Shunwang’s father, Zheng Shunzhang, who passed away on May 31, 2024.
According to case details, before June 2023, the accused met a man named ‘Mike’ at a coffee shop. Later, Mike contacted the accused via the messaging app Telegram.
In June that year, ‘Mike’ invited the accused to become an agent, commonly known as a ‘bookie’, to help collect 4D and Toto bets. He promised the accused a 5% commission on the total amount of bets collected. In addition, if the accused placed bets himself, he would get a 7% to 8% rebate, and if one of his referred gamblers won, he could earn an extra few hundred dollars in bonuses.
The accused then began working for ‘Mike’ and recruited friends to place bets with him. Gradually, he had at least six gamblers under him. The accused would forward the betting details of the gamblers to ‘Mike’ via Telegram, collect cash from the gamblers, and then, as instructed, hand the money to an unidentified upstream agent.
Each week, someone would come to collect the bets. If a gambler won, the accused was also responsible for distributing the prize money.
In the second half of 2023, the accused told his father about the illegal gambling activities, and his father subsequently ‘joined in’ the operation. The two began to split responsibilities: the father was responsible for handing over the collected cash to the upstream agent, while the accused sorted out the betting details under both their names and forwarded them to ‘Mike’.
Investigations revealed that from June 26, 2023 to March 11, 2024, the accused continued to operate the aforementioned illegal gambling activities, collecting bets at least 3 to 4 days a week. In total, about S$222,641 (about RM689,204) in illegal bets was collected, earning a profit of about S$5,000 (about RM15,478), while the father earned about S$6,000 to S$7,000 (about RM18,573 to RM21,669).