23 men aged 55 to 80 arrested for illegal horse betting

Twenty-three men, aged between 55 and 80, were arrested for their suspected involvement in illegal horse betting activities.

In an islandwide operation conducted on April 1, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the six Police Land Divisions conducted raids at multiple locations that resulted in the arrests.

These locations include French Road, Jurong East, Toa Payoh, Yishun, Bedok North and Yung Sheng Road.

Cash amounting to about S$8,000, mobile phones, pens, pagers and documents such as betting records were also seized during the operation.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the 23 suspects are believed to have various roles including illegal bookmakers, runners as well as gamblers.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Under the Betting Act, any person who bets with a bookmaker shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000, or to a jail term of up to six months, or both.

Any person who is found to be involved in bookmaking shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than $20,000 and not more than $200,000, and shall also be punished with a jail term of up to five years.

The police said in a news release that they "take a serious view against all forms of illegal betting activities and will continue to take tough enforcement action against those involved, regardless of their roles."

"Members of the public are advised to steer clear of all forms of illegal gambling," added the police.

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