While COVID-19 has forced many offices to take a break from sheltering workers, the same can’t be said for illegal activities.
After all, as the big, buff men in blue said, crimes take no break.
Not even for COVID-19.
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158 People Under Investigations for Illegal Horse Betting Activities & Flouting COVID-19 Rules
Between 24 Apr and 6 Jun 2021, while most of us were busy monitoring the daily COVID-19 situation, a group of men and women were monitoring a very different thing.
Illegal gambling.
According to a news release by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), a total of 158 people are being investigated for alleged non-compliance with COVID-19 safe-distancing measures and illegal gambling.
147 of them are men, and 11 are women.
The Operation
During this period, operations were conducted by the police against illegal horse betting activities at several locations.
These include:
- Telok Blangah Crescent
- Bukit Merah View
- Serangoon Central
- Bedok
- Bukit Batok
- Woodlands
- Marsiling
- Yishun
The police managed to seize cash totalling more than S$76,000, a few mobile phones and documents that are allegedly betting records.
The people who are caught and being investigated are believed to be illegal bookmakers, runners and gamblers.
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HDB officers reportedly supported the islandwide operation by carrying out enforcement operations against breaching COVID-19 safe-distancing measures
Investigations are ongoing.
Penalties
Now, if you’ve always had the itch to try placing bets with illegal bookmakers, here’s a piece of advice.
Don’t.
Because while the rewards sound lucrative, you could end up with harsh penalties.
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For those who are caught placing bets with illegal bookmakers, you can be jailed up to 6 months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
For illegal bookmakers who are caught, they can be jailed for up to 5 years and fined between S$20,000 and S$200,000.
For breaching COVID-19 safe-distancing measures, individuals could be fined S$300 or S$10,000, depending on the severity of the offence.
More serious breaches could result in fines of up to S$10,000, jail time of up to 6 months, or both.
In short, as Phua Chu Kang would say, don’t pray pray.
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SPF’s Statement
To end the news release, the SPF warns members of the public against partaking in illegal gambling, saying that they’ll continue to take a “tough stance” against such offenders.
In addition, they also urge people to follow prevailing safe-distancing measures seriously.
On a separate note, the COVID-19 situation in Singapore has improved (slightly) since stricter rules were imposed.
If you’re hoping to see Singapore return to Phase 2 where people can dine out again, stay at home.
You can read more about the current measures here, effective until 13 June 2021 (hopefully).
Feature Image: SPF
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