A Singapore court has sentenced six Malaysian men for an armed robbery at a high-stakes poker game that prosecutors said netted about S$4.9 million in cryptocurrency, cash and luxury goods. All six pleaded guilty on Sept. 14 to armed gang robbery and money-laundering charges linked to moving the stolen assets from Singapore into Malaysia.
The longest terms went to Wong Chi San, 35, and Goh Boon Tong, 30, whom prosecutors identified as the main planners. Each was sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison, 24 strokes of the cane and a S$4,000 fine. Police recovered about S$1.69 million, leaving roughly S$3.21 million of the stolen property unrecovered at the time of sentencing.
How the robbery was planned
According to court documents summarized by Singapore Law Watch, Wong and Goh learned in November 2023 that high-stakes poker games were being held at a property in King Albert Park. The games could involve several hundred thousand dollars, and some participants reportedly settled payments using cryptocurrency.
After visiting the property, the pair observed that the gate and wooden door could be left unlocked while games were in progress. Prosecutors said Wong then suggested robbing the house and, together with Goh, recruited Mohd Hamidon Ahmed to bring in additional men. Hamidon was allegedly promised RM1.5 million, then worth about S$467,000, to be shared among his group.
What happened on the night of the attack
On the night of April 17, 2024, Wong and Goh confirmed that a poker game was underway. After 2 a.m. on April 18, seven masked men entered the property, with three carrying machetes and two carrying baseball bats, the court heard.
The group restrained the 11 people inside, taped their mouths and searched their phones for cryptocurrency applications. Prosecutors said Wong and Goh found large digital-asset balances on the hostess' phone and directed transfers to a wallet they controlled. The robbers also took cash from a safe and searched bedrooms for other valuables.
After the robbery, Wong and Goh crossed into Malaysia through Tuas Checkpoint at about 2:15 a.m. The remaining members left through Woodlands Checkpoint around 25 minutes later. Court records said weapons and clothing used in the robbery were discarded during the escape.
Sentences and division of proceeds
Justice Aidan Xu described the crime as audacious and carefully planned, saying it disrupted peace and security and warranted strong punishment because it targeted people inside a private home. Prosecutors placed Wong and Goh at the highest level of culpability because they selected the target, organized the group and oversaw the split of the proceeds.
Hamidon, 49, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison and 24 strokes. Kartik Palaniappan, 34, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34, each received seven years and eight months and 24 strokes. Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51, was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison but was not caned because of his age.
The court heard that Wong later transferred roughly 1.1 million USDT to Goh in Kuala Lumpur. The pair then found buyers for part of the cryptocurrency and received RM1.49 million in cash for an unspecified amount of USDT. Hamidon kept RM445,000, while Kartik, Hashim and Tauffiq each received RM100,000. Muhammad Yusuf Kassim kept RM645,000, although evidence cited in court said only RM245,000 was meant to be his own share and the rest was supposedly held for the group.
Recoveries and the remaining suspect
Defense lawyers argued that some of the recruited men had smaller roles or received much less money than the organizers. Counsel for Kartik and Hashim said each man received RM100,000, while Tauffiq's lawyer argued that he had limited knowledge of the detailed plan. Hamidon's lawyer said his client supplied duct tape and cable ties but refused to provide weapons.
The six men prosecuted in Singapore were arrested in Malaysia between April and November 2024. Tauffiq was detained before boarding a flight to Kota Kinabalu, while Goh was arrested at an airport before a planned trip to Japan. Singapore police had earlier said two Malaysian suspects were arrested on April 27 and 28, 2024, before being transferred to Singapore on April 30.
One suspect, Muhammad Yusuf Kassim, remained at large when sentencing was handed down. Court documents cited by local reporting said he was believed to have traveled from Malaysia to Thailand. With about S$1.69 million recovered and around S$3.21 million still missing, the unresolved part of the case now centers on the unrecovered assets and the fugitive suspect.
Source: crypto.news