Malaysian Police Arrests 38 People for Illegal Gambling

The illegal players were so captivated by the game that they didn’t notice the police officers.

The Malaysian police caught and arrested 38 people for illegal gambling. The players were each fined with RM 2,000 and sentenced to four months’ jail for breaking Malaysian gambling laws. Charged under Section 6 of the Common Gaming House Act 1953, the accused pleaded guilty to committing the offence.

After being caught gambling at a workshop in Thean Teik Estate, Air Itam, the group was arrested in Ops Dadu and the police submitted further evidence to the court, including a glass bowl, glass plate, three dice, gambling chips.

Reduced fine and sentence

Among the accused were eight women, one of them Vietnamese. The illegal gamblers were aged between 22 and 75. After their lawyer advised them to plead guilty, their lawyer sought to get a reduced fine and sentence for his defendants, which he managed. The maximum punishment for breaking current laws is six months in jail and a RM 5,000 fine.

“They have also regretted their mistakes and offence committed,” he told magistrate Umma Devi Loganathan. A few of the men brought in front of the court flashed victory signs and big smiles at the photographers, while the women covered their faces with their hands to hide from the cameras.

Gambling options are scarce in the country and this has led to problems with illegal Malaysian poker rooms, betting shops and underground gambling dens. The accused were reportedly so absorbed by the dice game they were playing, that they failed to realize the presence of police officers in the room.