Cops Bust Baccarat Insurance Illegal under Singapore Gambling Laws

The judge did not like what he saw, an honorable vegetable seller who abandoned his profession and turned into a villain who sold insurance to baccarat high rollers at the ritzy Marina Bay Sands Casino, which is against Singaporean gambling laws.

According to online gambling news in Singapore, Mr. Lee Chin Chuan, abandoned his profession, selling cucumbers and asparagus to wives of stock brokers, after deciding that poverty is not as romantic as shown in the movies. So he began hanging around the baccarat tables at one of the two legal casinos in Singapore.

Soon he realized that he can take the opposite bet in baccarat (almost 50/50 odds) as a form of insurance for Singaporean high rollers, tourists and owners of underground online casino in Singapore.

Mr. Lee bet with the casino, as a form of a hedge bet, and if the player were happened to lose he refunded part of the bet. If the player were happened to win in baccarat in Singapore then Mr. Lee would be compensated. Overall the wily vegetable seller had a 15% advantage due to the fees the Singaporean gambler had to pay to him as a commission for the risk.

The angry judge asked Mr. Lee why he would dare to betray the honorable laws, and since he is an honorable man, Mr. Lee simply said that he used to earn $2k Singaporean dollars per month selling carrots and within 3 months of being a baccarat insurance broker, he was making $30,000 per month with business doing so well that he had to hire 3 extra people to take all the extra action.

The judge, unmoved by the sincerity of the vegetable man, sentenced him to 10 months in prison and confiscated every dollar police found on premises.

During the raid, police confiscated $78,000 in cash, $46,000 in casino chips and one check worth $100,000. The judge explained that the money will be used to fund an education program for Singaporean children to teach them that gambling is only good for foreign tourists, and good Singaporeans only work to better society.

The tearful children of the former vegetable seller explained that – “My mum knew that he gambled. It was a source of extra income for us and it was also a way for him to unwind after work.” The children vowed that next time they will inform on their father quicker by keeping a better eye on his activities, and will keep a journal of his movements and words.