Singapore Jails Six Malaysians Over $3.8M High-Stakes Poker Heist

Six Malaysian men have been sentenced for an audacious armed robbery of a private high-stakes poker game in Singapore that involved the theft of US$3.38 million. Prosecutors said it was one of the biggest robberies by value in Singapore’s history.

The April 2024 raid targeted a luxury home in the affluent King Albert Park area, where regular poker games involved stakes running into hundreds of thousands of Singapore dollars.

The games were hosted by a Chinese national at the property, which was rented by her husband, according to Singapore court proceedings reported by Channel News Asia (CNA).

Another resident helped organize the games, while a South Korean woman was employed as a dealer and a Malaysian man provided massages to players.

Seven players were present when the robbers struck shortly after 2 a.m. on April 18, 2024.

Crypto, Cash, Watches Taken

Prosecutors said masterminds Wong Chi Shan, 35, and Goh Boon Tong, 30, learned about the games through an acquaintance who had played in them.

After visiting the property, they noticed that its front gate and door were typically left open during games. The pair later conducted surveillance and recruited others for what prosecutors described as a “lightning heist.”

The gang arrived armed with machetes and baseball bats and restrained those inside with tape and cable ties.

Wong and Goh searched victims’ phones for cryptocurrency apps, prosecutors said. One woman was robbed of assets worth approximately S$3.9 million (US$3.1 million), including more than US$2.6 million in Tether cryptocurrency, S$210,000 cash, US$40,000 cash, and 150,000 UAE dirhams.

Other property stolen included a Richard Mille watch valued at S$320,000, a Ferrari key, and Rolex watches valued at about S$55,000 each.

The gang escaped to Malaysia shortly afterward, with Wong and Goh crossing the border through Tuas at around 2:15 a.m. Other members crossed through Woodlands roughly 25 minutes later.

Millions Still Missing

Six members of the gang were subsequently arrested in Malaysia and returned to Singapore. A seventh suspect, Muhammad Yusuf Kassim, 33, remains at large and is believed to have fled to Thailand.

Authorities have recovered approximately S$1.69 million of the haul, leaving around S$3.21 million unaccounted for.

Wong and Goh were each sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison, 24 strokes of the cane, and S$4,000 fines. Four accomplices received prison terms ranging from seven years and eight months to 10½ years. Three were also sentenced to 24 strokes of the cane.

Prosecutors said it may have been Singapore’s largest robbery by nominal value. When adjusted for inflation, however, it is eclipsed by the notorious 1971 Gold Bars robbery, in which 120 bars then worth more than S$500,000 were stolen and three men murdered. Seven men were later hanged for the killings.