Crackdown on Illegal Gambling Leads to Arrests in Thailand and Prison Sentence in Singapore

In the Koh Phangan District, Tourist Police Division 5 apprehended 10 foreigners who had been playing an illegal game of poker.

To those who lived nearby, the place had come to be called Golden Moon.

The group had gathered at a house that one of them had been renting.

The alleged organizer of the gathering is named Anton Kozko, a 36-year-old from Russia, and the person renting the house.

Charges of engaging in illegal gambling for profit have been given to the suspects.

Due to being the supposed organizer, Kozko will face an additional charge for housing the illegal gathering.

The cost of renting the place is THB 30,000 (US$820) a month.

Additionally, the cops found THB 134,000 (US$3,660) in a waist bag.

Local police had grown suspicious due to several parked motorbikes outside the house.
Before entering, officers first gathered evidence by managing to record, through a large curtain, the happenings inside.

The group consisted of six Russians, one Romanian, one Israeli, one German, and one British national.
Alongside the cards and poker chips, the cops also found a card shuffler.

In Thailand, the law prohibits most kinds of gambling except for state lotteries and certain horse races, officials remind.

Holding a Prisoner

In Singapore, a woman of Taiwanese descent was arrested for holding another woman against her will for several hours.

The Taiwanese woman had restrained her victim, a 49-year-old Singaporean, for not returning money that she had borrowed and lost gambling illegally.

The amount of money owed was around SGD 25,000 ($18,700).

Following a guilty plea, Lin Mei, the mastermind behind the whole thing, received a 10-month prison sentence.

Her accomplice, Wu Zhibing, received a lighter eight-month prison sentence.

Wu helped Lin prepare the warehouse where the victim would be lured and later helped ambush her.
After capturing their target, Lin demanded that the victim pay SGD 200,000 ($154,300).

Lin was convinced that after selling her home for SGD 300,000 ($231,150), the victim would have the necessary funds to pay; however, she didn’t.

The victim was finally released after a friend paid the kidnappers SGD 30,000 ($23,150).

Before letting her go, Lin gave her several warnings not to contact the police.

After her release, the victim contacted the authorities to report what had happened.