Six Malaysians convicted of armed robbery at poker party in Singapore

Six Malaysian men have been convicted by a court in Singapore of an armed robbery at a private poker game in the upmarket Bukit Timah district. In the early hours of 18 April 2024, they entered a villa armed, threatened those present and made off with more than $4.9 million, partly in cryptocurrency. The two principal defendants received prison sentences of nearly 13 years and 24 strokes of the cane each.

In brief:

• Seven Malaysians attacked a poker game in Singapore and stole more than $4.9 million in cash, crypto and luxury goods.
• Six defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced to terms ranging from more than seven years to nearly 13 years in prison.
• More than $3.2 million of the stolen amount has still not been recovered.

Robbers knew players paid in crypto

The two principal defendants, Wong Chi Shan (35) and Goh Boon Tong (30), learned through contacts that poker games with stakes of hundreds of thousands of dollars were held regularly at the villa on King Albert Park. A notable detail: the players settled their accounts with one another in cryptocurrency. The two had visited the property beforehand to scout it and discovered that the door was not locked during the games.

They then recruited five accomplices. On the night of the robbery, the seven men, dressed in black with balaclavas and gloves, entered the property shortly after 2am. They were armed with machetes and baseball bats. Inside they found 11 people: the hostess and her husband, a poker organiser, a South Korean female card dealer, a Malaysian masseur and seven poker players from Indonesia, China and Singapore.

Those present were tied up with tape and cable ties. The robbers searched their phones for crypto apps and transferred digital assets to their own addresses. They then also took cash, luxury watches and the keys to a Ferrari. As The Independent reports, the court described it as a “blitz robbery”.

Escape to Malaysia and prosecution

After the robbery, the men fled Singapore in two groups via different border crossings. In Malaysia they disposed of clothing and weapons and converted part of the stolen crypto into cash, which they divided among themselves. Goh had recruited Hamidon to handle logistics, and the latter received 10,000 Malaysian ringgit in advance for doing so.

The six were arrested between April and November 2024 and transferred to Singapore. A seventh suspect, Muhammad Yusuf Kassim (33), is still at large and is believed to be in Thailand.

On 14 September, all six pleaded guilty in court. The sentences range from seven years and eight months to nearly 13 years in prison. Defendants under 50 also each receive 24 strokes of the cane. Judge Aidan Xu called the robbery “brutal and well planned” and a serious breach of public safety.

Singaporean authorities have now recovered stolen goods equivalent to about $1.69 million, including around $800.000 in crypto that Goh helped trace. More than $3.2 million remains unaccounted for to date.