Huat Ah! Boleh-land youth stole near $1million chisp @ MBS from Sinkie Ah Pek

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4 years' jail for man who stole S$900,000 worth of casino chips
Jackson Yeoh stole the chips from a 71-year-old Singaporean retiree at Marina Bay Sands Casino. He says he committed the crime because he lost money gambling.

By Vanessa Paige Chelvan
Posted 29 Feb 2016 18:16 Updated 29 Feb 2016 18:20

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Gaming chips. (Photo: AFP)

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SINGAPORE: A 24-year-old Malaysian has been sentenced to 48 months' jail after he stole almost S$1 million worth of casino chips before fleeing the country. Along with the chips, Jackson Yeoh also made off with a BMW car key, three credit cards and about S$9,100 in cash.

Yeoh was arrested in Malaysia about five months after the theft in September at the Marina Bay Sands Casino.

Out of the S$910,600 in total that he stole from a 71-year-old Singaporean retiree, S$701,000 was recovered.

The court heard Monday (Feb 29) that Yeoh had observed the elderly man putting some casino chips into a bag, which he left unattended while he went off to gamble at other Baccarat tables nearby. Yeoh then placed a bottle of water beside the victim’s bag and repeatedly drank from it, to give the impression that the bag was his.

About half an hour later, when the man had not returned, Yeoh took the bag and left the casino. He threw the victim’s mobile phone into a dustbin, before getting into a taxi. While rummaging through the bag in the cab, he discovered the car key, cash and credit cards as well as the casino chips.

He fled to Malaysia that night. Upon his arrest in Kuching, Sarawak, Yeoh claimed to have thrown away the credit cards and car key and spent the cash on gambling and personal expenses. He had also given away S$500,000 worth of casino chips to his friends, keeping S$400,000 for himself, he said.

Casino chips worth S$700,000 were recovered from Yeoh and his friends, although no other restitution has been made to date, the court heard. The chips will be returned to the victim via the police, the prosecution said.

In court on Monday, Yeoh pleaded with the judge to give him a light sentence. “I’m still young,” he said, promising to not reoffend. “I came to Singapore as a tourist … I lost money gambling, and that caused me to commit the offence,” Yeoh explained. He added that he was now remorseful for his first brush with the law.

For theft, Yeoh could have been jailed up to 3 years and fined. As for removing stolen property from Singapore’s jurisdiction by fleeing to Malaysia, Yeoh could have faced up to 10 years’ jail and a fine of S$500,000.

- CNA


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