korean guy mbs casino

A South Korean student who stole casino chips more than 200 times at the Marina Bay Sands casino was jailed for six weeks on Thursday (Sept 17).

You Hyeon Ho, 22, a third-year student at Singapore Management University, had admitted to 27 counts of stealing casino chips totalling $2,675.

He faced a total of 272 charges, including 21 charges of attempted theft and one of cheating at play by sleight of hand.

The amount involved in the 250 theft charges was $6,300.

The amount involved in You's 250 theft charges was $6,300. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

A magistrate's court heard that You had committed several counts of theft and attempted theft of casino chips at the Sic Bo tables in the MBS casino between Oct 1 and 22 last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Francis Zhang Zeyi said You had either dishonestly shifted other patrons' wagers or removed them from the betting boxes before the result of a game.

When the patrons discovered that their chips were missing, You would return them the chips and claim that he had mistakenly thought that the chips were his.

On Oct 22, he shifted a $5 cash chip belonging to an unknown man, resulting in the latter losing the game.

The casino's surveillance team detained him and called the police.

You's lawyer Jonathan Wong said in his mitigation plea that his client had an outstanding, exemplary and distinguished academic track record over the past 10 years.

The offences, he said, were isolated, one-off and completely out of character.

He said You, who was diagnosed with depression, had also been stressed by the sudden and severe breakdown of his family's finances after his father's bankruptcy. His parents had to return to South Korea, leaving You and his brother here.

District Judge Lim Tse Haw ruled out probation, saying You was already 22 and does not have any roots in Singapore as a result of his father's financial trouble. He took into account You's young age and his clean record. He said he could not ignore the fact that You had gone on a stealing spree over a period of one month and the sheer number of charges he faced.

You could have been jailed for up to three years and fined on each charge.

man threats mbs

 A man who threatened to report to the authorities that he was allowed to dine at a lounge in Marina Bay Sands despite not being fully vaccinated has been sentenced to time behind bars for trying to extort money.

Goh Tian Shun, 30, had lied that he was fully vaccinated and after checks at the lounge showed he was not, Goh threatened to blow up the matter by alerting the media and authorities.

The incident happened in August 2021 during a period when only fully vaccinated people were allowed to dine-in at restaurants. 

On Wednesday, Goh was sentenced to two years and two months’ jail and one stroke of the cane. He had pleaded guilty to one extortion charge and three charges for other offences including cheating.

The court heard that Goh had kicked up a fuss while at MBS on Aug 14, 2021.

To appease him, MBS’ food and beverage manager Barry Ng Pak Sen offered him a complimentary meal at the Ruby Lounge after Goh claimed he was fully vaccinated.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Yanying said while Goh was eating later that night at about 1am, a staff member asked him again for his vaccination status. This was after a check revealed he was not fully vaccinated.

Mr Ng was alerted and approached Goh, who again lied that he was fully vaccinated.

Said DPP Tan: “When Barry informed the accused that the check via TraceTogether revealed otherwise, the accused became agitated and falsely alleged that the lounge was dirty.”

Goh eventually admitted he was not fully vaccinated but then said he wanted to file a complaint against MBS.

He eventually left the lounge. At about 5am, he told a shift manager at the integrated resort that the lounge staff had allowed him to dine there despite knowing he was “an unvaccinated person”.

Goh threatened to report the matter to the authorities and said he would provide them with video footage that he claimed to have.

Asked if there was a particular outcome he wanted, Goh demanded compensation for the purported $600,000 he had lost gambling at the casino there since 2018.

He said he was willing to settle the matter privately if MBS paid him $200,000 in chips and provided him with a permanent membership upgrade as compensation.

The shift manager said MBS would not compensate the gambling losses but added that the resort’s management would be notified of his request.

On Aug 16, 2021, Goh sent WhatsApp messages to various casino staff demanding compensation.

He said he would alert the media, and claimed he would get former photojournalist Jonathan Choo, who was with The New Paper, to interview casino staff.

Goh then sent messages to Mr Ng while pretending to be Mr Choo. At this point, Mr Ng notified his management of the matter and the police were alerted.

In the course of police investigations, Goh admitted that he had impersonated Mr Choo.

Goh was given the minimum jail sentence of two years’ jail for the extortion offence and one stroke of the cane. He could have been jailed for up to five years for the offence.

casino player debt

 A premium casino player who once won US$2 million (S$2.9 million) at a Phnom Penh casino saw his fortune roll the wrong way at Marina Bay Sands - and MBS taking him to court for about $2 million in losses.

Mr Darwin Liman, 70, a Singaporean businessman, was ordered by the High Court to pay the sum after MBS obtained a summary judgment last month.

The sum comprised $1.92 million in credit due in July 2015, and another $113,696 in interest computed to April last year.

The amount is believed to be the highest single sum owed by a patron that MBS successfully got back in court last year.

While court papers filed show Mr Liman made multiple visits to the casino from 2010, the debt incurred arose from $2 million in credit chips which were issued to him in June 2015 and due some two weeks later.

He paid $50,000 in November and was given a $28,765 discretionary rebate by MBS based on his chip rolling turnover, under the programme he was enrolled in.

After deducting these two sums, he still owed MBS $1.92 million.

Drew & Napier lawyer Kelvin Tan applied for a summary judgment without the need for a full trial, arguing that Mr Liman's defence against the case was no more than a bare denial.

He said Mr Liman had not raised anything else other than not admitting the claims, and cited past case law that held this was not enough for a case to go to trial.

"Where the defence amounts to nothing more than a bare denial of the claim, the defendant is not showing cause but merely challenging the plaintiff to show proof," he said, citing court practice authority Jeffrey Pinsler from the National University of Singapore.

He added that Mr Liman had not filed any affidavit to lodge evidence of any issue that justified a trial, and given a clear case of a debt, he had to show there was a reasonably acceptable defence.

Supreme Court assistant registrar Shaun Perera agreed and ordered a final judgment for MBS, which included $6,500 in costs.

The outcome for Mr Liman was in sharp contrast to an earlier incident reported by Cambodian media in 2003, which said the US$2.04 million he won at the Naga floating casino was cleared by a Phnom Penh court.

His lawyer Low Chai Chong from Dentons Rodyk & Davidson declined to comment yesterday.

Last year was also the first time the casino sued the estate of a late patron to recover a debt.

Kluang-based Malaysian Lee Seng Wei was said to have been advanced $150,000 in April 2015. It was not repaid and MBS is seeking High Court sanction to serve the suit papers across the border on the two executors of his estate.