Albert Lim Tze Chean, 43, the former vice-president of the VIP services of Resorts World Sentosa’s gaming services department and the company’s current director of the projects department, has been fined $100,000 after Singapore’s Casino Regulatory Authority found him guilty of giving false information to the agency. This is on top of two other counts of deleting incriminating evidence in a handful of RWS’ previous log entries.
Apparently, Lim tried to withhold information from the CRA involving Resorts World’s awarding of Universal Studio Singapore tickets to anybody who renewed their annual levy. Turns out, that marketing ploy was in direct violation of a prohibition under the Casino Control Act that prohibits direct or indirect reimbursement of Singapore’s $2,000 annual casino entry levy.
So Lim tried to skirt around the truth, telling CSA inspectors back in July 2011 that Resorts World Sentosa had merely issued those complimentary USS tickets to guests who were Gold Card members or higher, something that he explained was part and parcel of the casino’s daily routine. And that was before he also claimed that these complimentary items were only given to disgruntled patrons of RWS.
Clearly, something about those explanations didn’t fly well with investigators from the CRA and after opening the investigation more than two years ago, District Judge Soh Tze Bian concluded it with the conviction of Lim for his apparent double-talk and back-room dealings.
It could’ve been worse for Lim, but Judge Bian decided on levying more punishment against the former RWS VP because his offences were committed on “on RWS’ instructions” without him knowing that his bosses failed to seek any sort of approval from authorities. When he found out that he was committing an offense under the Casino Control Act, Lim tried to cover up the misdeeds by not being upfront with the authorities.
When Lim found out later, he tried to cover up by lying to the authorities. If the judge had meted down the maximum penalty to Lim, the latter would’ve had to around $150,000 and get thrown in jail for two years.
It’s worth noting that Resorts World Sentosa had already been fined $600,000 last year for the same breach of the country’s Casino Control Act.
