MBS casino chip scammer sentenced to prison

Wednesday 7th of June 2017

The man behind Singapore’s biggest counterfeit casino chip scam has been sentenced to seven years and four months jail, local media reports.

In late 2015, Toh Hock Thiam and his two accomplices managed to scam a total of $1.291 million through the use of 1,291 counterfeit chips at Marina Bay Sands.

Eight days after running the scam, Toh withdrew his share of the money and fled to Malaysia, but was caught only a month later with the help of the Malaysian police and the Macau Judiciary Police, and handed over to the Singapore police the next day. Unfortunately, none of the money has been recovered.

Toh has been convicted of 13 counts of engaging in a conspiracy to exchange the counterfeit casino chips for cash at MBS.

While Toh was directly responsible for 420 counterfeit chips, the court heard he could be indirectly held accountable for the total losses sustained by Marina Bay Sands.

"As the counterfeit cash chips were all the same, an inference can be drawn that Toh was either involved in the manufacture and distribution of all the counterfeit cash chips, or he had liaised with an unknown syndicate member who had manufactured and delivered the counterfeit cash chips to him and others involved in the scam,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Asoka Markandu.

For their part in the scam, Chia was jailed for five years, while Seow was jailed for a year.

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