A businessman known as ‘Datuk Ken’ and his wife pleaded not guilty at the Selayang magistrates’ court today to four charges of using their residence as a common gaming house.
Liow Lian Keong, 40, and his wife, Chen Lye Kuen, 41, made the plea after the charges against them were read out by an interpreter before magistrate Nik Mohd Fadli Nik Azlan.
According to the charges, Liow was charged with three counts of using his residence in Bandar Country Homes, Rawang, Selangor, as a common gaming house between 5.15pm and 6.15pm, on July 6.
Chen was charged with one count of a similar charge, at the same place and date at 5.15pm.
All charges are framed under Section 4(1)(a) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 which provides a maximum RM50,000 fine or three years’ jail.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Wan Nur Iman Wan Ahmad Afzal offered bail of RM10,000 in one surety for each charge.
However, the two accused, represented by Muhammad Nor Izzat Nordin, appealed for a lower bail amount on the grounds that both of them were looking after their two children and ageing parents.
The court then allowed the two accused a bail of RM7,000 in one surety for each charge and set Dec 20 for mention. Both paid the bail.
It was previously reported that police had crippled a major gambling syndicate with the arrest of a man who was the key suspect, and 15 individuals on Aug 11 after a series of raids during a special operation in Rawang.
Investigations revealed that the man had been engaged in illegal activities such as online gambling, Bitcoin mining, and illegal money lending since 2014.
“It is believed the syndicate was able to earn profits of up to RM6 million a year from gambling activities, RM800,000 a month from Bitcoin mining and RM2 million from moneylending activities by charging interest of eight to 10% on borrowers, who are mostly close friends and businessmen,” said Selangor police chief Arjunaidi Mohamed.
Following the arrest of the key suspect and its members, police seized 14 luxury cars, including a Lamborghini Huracan, BMW 8i, Nissan GTR, and Porsche Cayman, and sealed 14 bungalows and three shophouses, besides seizing cash and freezing 71 bank accounts, all worth nearly RM33 million.