Man in Kuching pleads guilty to running online gambling, fined RM10,000
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KUCHING (July 7): A man was fined RM10,000 in default five months’ imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here today for engaging in online gambling.
Magistrate Zaiton Anuar convicted Mohd Syahfar Nizam Taha, 25, on his own guilty plea to a charge framed under Section 4B(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953.
The Section provides for a fine of between RM10,000 and RM100,000 for each gambling machine seized, and imprisonment for not more than five years, on conviction.
Mohd Syahfar was charged with dealing with an online gambling machine in the form of a smartphone, in a house at Kampung Sungai Bedil Besar here at about 11am on May 15, 2021.
According to the facts of the case, a team from the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) raided the house and detained the accused on suspicion of running illegal online gambling activities.
Seized from him was a smartphone which was later confirmed by an expert to be a gambling machine, and cash amounting to RM437.
Separately in the same court, accused Mohd Samsul Obeng was fined RM1,000 in default one month in jail for engaging in the sale of illegal lottery tickets.
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to a charge framed under Section 9(1) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, which provides for a fine not exceeding RM5,000, or up to six months in jail, or both, on conviction.
The offence was committed at around 4.25pm on April 10, 2022 at a coffee shop in Taman Desa Wira, Batu Kawa here.
According to the facts of the case, a police team raided the premises and detained the accused on suspicion of illegal lottery sales.
Seized from him were a mobile phone, a piece of paper containing digits believed to be illegal lottery numbers, and cash amounting to RM36.
An expert later confirmed that the mobile phone and paper contained unlicensed lottery numbers.
Both cases were prosecuted by Inspector Merylene Lindan Andrew Mang, while the two accused were unrepresented.
