6 jailed over $4.9m armed robbery, involving machetes, during poker game at King Albert Park GCB

Seven masked men stormed into a good-class bungalow (GCB) in King Albert Park in 2024, while a high-stakes poker game was going on, and tied up the 11 people in the house.

The robbers, some of whom were armed with machetes and baseball bats, made off with $4.9 million, mostly in cryptocurrency, and left Singapore immediately in two cars via separate checkpoints.

On Sept 14, six of the men, all Malaysians, were handed jail sentences after they each pleaded guilty to a charge of armed gang robbery and a charge of money laundering for moving the loot from Singapore to Malaysia.

The two masterminds who conceived the audacious heist – Wong Chi San, 35, and Goh Boon Tong, 30 – were each sentenced to 12 years and 11 months’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, and a $4,000 fine.

The duo had also admitted to charges related to vice offences, including arranging for Japanese women to work as sex workers in Singapore.

Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 49, who was roped in to provide more “muscle” for the robbery, was sentenced to 10½ years’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane. 

Wong and Goh offered him RM1.5 million (S$467,000) to be split among his team.

Two of the henchmen Hamidon recruited, Kartik Palaniappan, 34, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34, were each sentenced to seven years and eight months’ jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

The third, Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51, who cannot be caned as he is above 50 years old, was given eight years and eight months’ jail.

The seventh suspect, Muhammad Yusuf Kassim, 33, is at large and is believed to be in Thailand.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok told the High Court that this was the highest-value robbery in Singapore since the 1970s, after accounting for inflation.

Out of the $4.9 million stolen, the police have recovered only cryptocurrency valued at about $1.69 million.

The court was told that the poker game on April 18, 2024, was hosted by a Chinese national whose husband was the tenant of the house.

A South Korean national was engaged as the card dealer, while a Chinese national who lived in the house assisted with the game, and a Malaysian provided massage services to the players.

The seven players comprised five Singaporeans, an Indonesian and a Chinese national.

Wong and Goh came to know about the poker games at the house through their friend who had participated in them.

The stakes for these games could run up to several hundred thousand dollars and payment was settled by cryptocurrency.

Gate open, door unlocked

When they later visited the house, they observed that the gate would be left open and the wooden door unlocked for the duration of the games.

Around March or April 2024, Wong suggested committing robbery at the house while he and Goh were in Kuala Lumpur.

Goh decided to rope in Hamidon, who ran his own private security firm and provided debt collection services.

Hamidon recruited Yusuf, Tauffiq, Hashim and Kartik for the job.

The henchmen did not know the details of the job when they were recruited but knew it involved something illegal.

Goh and Wong headed to Singapore to determine an opportune time to strike and booked an apartment in Johor Bahru to house the team.

They planned to commit the robbery while clad in black clothing, with gloves and ski masks.

Wong also provided his Malaysia-registered multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) for Hamidon and his team to use.

On April 15, 2024, Wong and Goh drove to the house in the latter’s Singapore-registered car and confirmed that a game was under way, but Hamidon’s team had not arrived in JB.

The next day, Hamidon’s team checked into the JB apartment.

On the night of April 17, 2024, Wong and Goh alerted Hamidon to bring his team after confirming that a game was in progress.

Later that night, Hamidon drove into Singapore with his team. Goh and Wong briefed the team about the plan, showing them photographs of the house and the entry route.

The pair also placed three machetes and two baseball bats in the MPV.

Past 2am, the group entered the house via an unlocked gate and tied up the victims.

Emptied a safe of cash

Goh, Yusuf and Kartik were armed with a machete each, while Tauffiq and Hashim carried a baseball bat each.

Goh and Wong demanded that the host transfer cryptocurrency to a wallet that Wong controlled.

Meanwhile, Hamidon and his team took cash and luxury watches from the victims, emptied a safe of cash and ransacked the bedroom.

After the robbers left, some of the victims managed to free themselves, and one of them called the police.

The victims were later medically assessed for injuries. Four had minor injuries on their wrists from being bound but required no further medical treatment.

As part of their escape plan, Goh and Wong left Singapore via Tuas Checkpoint, while Hamidon and his team left via Woodlands Checkpoint.

The weapons and clothing used in the robbery were discarded after they entered Malaysia.

In KL, Goh and Wong sold an unspecified amount of USDT for RM1.49 million in cash as payment to Hamidon’s team.

Hamidon received RM445,000; Tauffiq, Hashim, and Kartik each received RM100,000; another RM100,000 was distributed to friends who helped them; and Yusuf kept RM645,000.

Goh and Wong kept the stolen cash and valuables for themselves.

The six men were arrested in Malaysia between April 27 and Nov 1, 2024. They were extradited to Singapore between April 30 and Nov 4, 2024.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

Addiction, doom scrolling, cyberbullying most common social media harms for youth: Report Law to safeguard social cohesion to take effect on Sept 15