SINGAPORE, Feb 21 — An elderly man whose two brothers led a notorious organised criminal group has had his five remaining charges withdrawn, nearly three years after he was sentenced for unlawful gambling.
Seet Siau Khuang, 75, was granted a discharge amounting to an acquittal on February 13, meaning he cannot be charged again for the same offences, according to a report in The Straits Times today.
Among the withdrawn charges, one was under the Organised Crime Act, while the others were related to illegal gambling.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) told The Straits Times on February 19 that prosecutors had carefully considered the facts and circumstances before seeking to drop the remaining charges.
Seet had been sentenced in April 2022 to four weeks’ jail and a S$30,000 fine for unlawful gambling activities.
In one case, police found him carrying 75 pieces of paper containing illegal lottery bet records and S$574 in cash at a wet market in Tanglin Halt in 2013.
He was arrested again in 2016 for similar offences.
His two brothers, Seet Seo Boon and Seet Sian Thian, were identified as leaders of an illegal remote gambling syndicate that raked in nearly S$98 million in less than two years.
Seo Boon was sentenced to nearly 10 years in jail and fined S$620,000 in 2022, while Sian Thian received 4½ years’ jail and a S$141,000 fine.
During earlier proceedings, prosecutors called his brothers’ criminal group one of the most profitable and elusive illegal remote gambling syndicates, operating covertly through technology for five years.
Another brother, Seet Seow Huat, 69, is also alleged to be a leader of the syndicate. His pre-trial conference is scheduled for February 27.
