Police arrest 9 men, 3 women at Bukit Timah GCB gambling den

SINGAPORE: Officers from the Tanglin Police Division raided a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at Bukit Timah Road between March 6 and 7, leading to the arrest of nine men and three women caught gambling.

According to a Straits Times report, the individuals who were rounded up had been betting money on a game played with mahjong tiles. It added that they were mostly Chinese nationals.

One of the women arrested, who is said to be in her 20s, felt unwell during the raid and an ambulance came to take her to the hospital at around 2.30 am on March 7.

Under the Common Gaming Houses Act, those convicted of using a place as a common gaming house may be fined $5,000 to $50,000 and jailed for up to three years. Meanwhile, those convicted of gaming in a common gaming house can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

The raid was part of a wider sweep carried out by the Singapore Police Force from March 5 to 8. Subsequently, 29 men and 33 women, from the ages of 18 and 73, are being investigated for various offences, SPF said in a statement on March 12.

The operation, led by the Tanglin Police Division, with support from Housing & Development Board (HDB) and Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) covered multiple locations, including Toa Payoh, Novena, Bukit Timah Road, Orchard Road, Balestier Road, and Selegie Road.

On March 5, police, HDB, and ICA officers first conducted enforcement operations against massage establishments and commercial units in Toa Payoh, Balestier Road, and Orchard Road, arresting 20 women under the Women’s Charter Act 1961 and Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990 (EFMA).

From March 6 to 7, the police conducted operations against illegal gambling activities in Novena, Toa Payoh and Bukit Timah Road. They arrested 23 men and five women under the Gambling Control Act 2022, seizing chips, mobile phones, and other gambling-related paraphernalia as case exhibits.

On the following night, another raid in Toa Payoh led to the arrest of six men and two women. Police also confiscated more than S$3,900 and other gambling-related paraphernalia.

Other enforcement checks were also conducted at public entertainment outlets along Selegie Road, resulting in the arrest of six women for offences under the Women’s Charter Act 1961 and EFMA.

The featured image above is from the Singapore Police Force. /TISG

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