5 Men in AMK Arrested for Illegally Gambling on a Makeshift Cardboard Table

Five “uncles” at Ang Mo Kio decided to take the gamble by illegally gambling in public only to lose everything when they were ambushed by plainclothes police officers.

As the National Council for Problem Gambling (NCPG) always say, it never pays to gamble – best to just kick the habit. Don’t let gambling become a problem.

5 Men in AMK Arrested for Illegally Gambling on a Makeshift Cardboard Table

On 26 August 2021 at around 6:30pm in the evening, five “uncles” age between 46 and 71 years old were arrested on the ground floor of Block 202 in Ang Mo Kio.

They were found gambling in public near to the letterbox area where they thought was secluded enough to evade the attention of the police… but apparently, that’s not the case.

A resident of the HDB, 50-year-old Shaun, told a reporter from Shin Min Daily that the police came over two days ago– probably based on a tip-off – to try to arrest the gambling uncles.

Unfortunately, back then, the uncles saw the uniformed police officers from a ways away and they scatted.

No one expected the uncles to gamble their luck and returned to the very same spot to gamble in public again…

…but that’s exactly what they did.

Shaun told the reporter that he saw some plainclothes officers observing the uncles, then suddenly they sprang at the men like a pack of wolves.

The police operation was over in a blink of the eye, with all five uncles in cuffs.

The funny thing here is that they aren’t gambling the “traditional” way with cards, mahjong tiles, or poker chips.

Instead, they were gambling on their mobile phones… something that they could have done in the comfort of their homes and not risk getting arrested.

The reporter also interviewed 69-year-old resident Mdm Tan, who said that she heard a few men yelling, “Go away, go away!”

She thought there was a fight going on.

Another unnamed interviewee told the reporter that the gathering had been going on for quite some time now.

This is mainly due to the fact that the uncles couldn’t gather at the coffee shop nearby due to COVID-19 regulations.

Hence, they ended up hiding near the letterbox area.

Gambling in Public is a Big No-No

The five men were currently being investigated under the suspicion of participating in illegal gambling activities.

According to the Betting Act, anyone who is caught gambling in a public place can be fined up to S$5,000 if convicted, or imprisoned for no more than six months, or both.

As for anyone who conducts illegal gambling activities, he will be slapped with a fine of between S$20,000 and S$200,000 and sentenced to a jail term not exceeding five years once convicted.

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