Coffee shop gambling probe leads to jail after man refuses phone check and smashes device

SINGAPORE: A man pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing justice and was sentenced to two weeks’ imprisonment when he was suspected of gambling inside a coffee shop, and refused to cooperate with police authorities when questioned. Furthermore, he decided to smash his phone so that the authorities would not be able to examine it and get caught. 

Case investigations

According to investigations reported by Lianhe Zaobao, the authorities received a report in March 2024 from a member of the public, stating that four people were allegedly gambling at a coffee shop. The one who reported admitted that even though there was no money or cards on the table, these individuals were using their mobile phones to record their wins and losses. 

With this, police officers went to the scene to investigate and discovered that the group of people, which included the suspect, were playing poker. When they were questioned, the suspect claimed that he thought it was permissible to play poker in a public place even without money. 

Caught in the act, the police officers then asked them to provide their personal information. It was found out that the suspect had violated gambling-related laws, so the authorities decided to check his mobile phone. 

The suspect, who acquired two phones at that time, handed only one to the authorities. He refused to hand over his second phone. When asked why, the suspect also claimed that it had ‘personal things’ but did not elaborate. 

Moreover, the suspect was initially willing to unlock the phone and allow the officers to view its contents, given that he is the one holding it. But it was not pursued. The police officers repeatedly asked him to examine his phone, but the defendant requested a five-minute break. He used this opportunity to smash his phone on the ground. The officers arrested the suspect on the spot. 

During sentencing, the suspect’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, stating that the suspect was not willing to let the police see his girlfriend’s private photos saved on his phone. However, the prosecutor argued that if he was really concerned about these private photos, he could have simply asked the female officer to investigate their contents. 

Ultimately, the judge sentenced the suspect to two weeks’ imprisonment. 

Other related news

In similar news related to concerns happening inside local shops, there was a report where a man got into an argument with a restaurant owner over reasons people least expect—a mobile charger.

With this, the 49-year-old Chinese national faced four charges, including one count of harassment, one count of reckless conduct endangering the peace, mischief, and public disturbance while intoxicated. He pleaded guilty to two of the charges and was fined $2,800.

Read more about the story here.