Six Malaysian Men Sentenced in Singapore for Audacious $3.9M Poker Heist
Six men face lengthy prison terms after a violent $3.9 million armed robbery at a Singapore poker game. Discover the details of this high-stakes heist.
POLICY WIRE — Singapore, Singapore — A Singapore court has handed down prison sentences to six Malaysian nationals involved in a high-stakes armed robbery at a private residence. The group targeted a luxury bungalow in the Bukit Timah district during a private poker game on April 18, 2024.
The perpetrators, armed with machetes and baseball bats, breached the King Albert Park property shortly after 2am. They held 11 individuals captive, including the game’s hostess, Li Xiaoyu, her husband Li Yang, organizer Hu Zhi Peng, a South Korean dealer, and seven players from Indonesia, China, and Singapore.
During the raid, the victims were restrained with cable ties and tape while the robbers seized cash, luxury watches, and cryptocurrency. The group also made off with the keys to a Ferrari, resulting in a total loss of approximately $3.9m (£2.9m). The court characterized the operation as a lightning heist.
The defendants—Wong Chi Shan, 35; Goh Boon Tong, 30; Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 49; Kartik Palaniappan, 34; Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51; and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34—pleaded guilty to charges including armed gang robbery. Sentences range from seven years and eight months to 12 years and 11 months, with those under 50 also receiving 24 strokes of the cane.
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Planning for the robbery spanned several weeks, with Wong and Goh scouting the location beforehand. Hamidon was recruited to organize additional personnel, receiving an upfront payment of 10,000 ringgit (£1,820). A seventh suspect, 33-year-old Muhammad Yusuf Kassim, remains at large and is believed to have fled to Thailand.
Following the crime, the men escaped to Malaysia, where they discarded evidence and laundered a portion of the stolen cryptocurrency. Authorities eventually apprehended the six men between April and November 2024. While S$1.69m (£985,000) in assets was recovered, over S$3.2m (£1.87m) remains missing.
Justice Aidan Xu condemned the act as an audacious and well-planned armed gang robbery which has disrupted the peace and security. He emphasized that the court expects homes to be secure and that those who disturb that peace and security can only expect to be treated severely.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
