A former part-time banquet server exploited his knowledge of hotel operations to steal nearly $50,000 in wedding red packets, later gambling away most of the money within days.
Lee Yi Wei, 36, received a 12-month jail sentence on 24 Jun 2025 after pleading guilty to theft and illegal gambling charges.
District Judge Christopher Goh ordered him to compensate victims about $46,000 (~US$34,000) by 31 Jul 2025, or face an additional imprisonment term of 100 days.
The unemployed man targeted a wedding reception at JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach on 5 Apr 2025. His previous employment as a part-time banquet server gave him insider knowledge of the ballroom layout and wedding procedures.
Calculated Theft at Wedding Reception
Lee confirmed an escape route through the ballroom’s side door before executing his plan. He knew wedding organisers placed red packet money boxes on registration tables at the ballroom foyer during receptions.
At approximately 12:50pm, when the registration table was momentarily unattended, Lee seized two money boxes – one blue and one white – containing $48,939 in cash. He immediately fled through the side door.
Lee proceeded to a back alley along Purvis Street, where he consolidated the contents of both boxes into the blue container. CCTV footage showed him storing the blue box in a National Library locker at 1:00pm.
He then travelled to Bugis Junction and spent $348 of the stolen money on new clothes, changing into them before returning to retrieve the remaining cash from the locker.
The wedding organiser discovered the missing boxes and reviewed CCTV footage, which captured Lee’s actions. Police received the report at 1:00pm.
Gambling Spree Consumes Stolen Wedding Money
Lee’s gambling addiction drove him to quickly dispose of the stolen funds through multiple channels. That evening, he visited a Singapore Pools outlet on Middle Road and gambled away $12,200 within four hours.
He deposited $36,331 of the cash into bank accounts through ATMs at various locations. These deposits were converted into online gambling credits with an unlicensed gambling service provider.
Between 5 Apr and 7 Apr, Lee placed 195 bets using the converted credits. He also spent an additional $60 on clothes at Raffles City Shopping Centre.
Police arrested Lee on 7 Apr with $3,000 of the stolen money still in his possession. The man had been in remand since May before beginning his sentence.
During mitigation, Lee apologised to the victims without legal representation. He attributed his actions to gambling addiction and desperation.
District Judge Goh noted Lee’s criminal history, including a previous 10-week jail term for criminal breach of trust. The judge emphasised that Lee had clearly planned the offence rather than acting impulsively.
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