$11m casino scam in the Philippines. Are Singaporeans involved?

Media reports have it that in just one week, three government-run casinos lost 400 million pesos (S$11 million) to a foreign gambling syndicate.

Mr Danilo Suarez, the deputy minority leader of the Philippines' House of Representatives, told reporters on Wednesday that "five to six" Singaporean players had rigged games at a casino to bag the money.

And they were so slick, they did not raise the suspicions of the casino's management.

But an official from government agency Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), who spoke on condition of anonymity, disputed Mr Suarez's claims.

The Pagcor official said that one of its casinos, Casino Filipino Paranaque, did indeed lose money to a foreign gambling syndicate, but the amount was only 150 million pesos.

On May 9, with the help of closed-circuit TV, casino detectives did arrest three foreign players holding Chinese and Malaysian passports while the group was playing baccarat at the airport casino.

The Pagcor official said: "Found concealed under the wrist of one suspect was an electronic device with a camera which had a trigger which, when pushed, turned the camera on and recorded the sequence of cards every time he cut the new set of cards on the gaming table."

However the trio fled the country when they were allowed to post bail after being charged in court.

The criminal complaint is now pending at the Paranaque Regional Trial Court.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

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