The mastermind behind a sophisticated casino chip counterfeiting scheme that defrauded Marina Bay Sands in Singapore of HK$1.29 million (US$165,500) has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
On Wednesday (June 7), the court heard that 54-year-old Toh Hock Thiam recruited two accomplices — Seow Piak Long, 65, and Chia Wei Tien, 48 — to distribute counterfeit HK$1,000 chips through dozens of runners. Over a 24-hour period in November 2015, the runners exchanged the fake chips for smaller genuine ones, mixed them with additional counterfeits, and later cashed them out at the casino. The proceeds were then funneled back to Seow and Chia, who paid the runners for their efforts.
Most Realistic Counterfeits in Singapore
According to the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore, the chips were of “the best quality” they had ever encountered — so convincing that they went undetected for a week. The scam unraveled when an alert casino employee noticed a slight discoloration in one of the 1,291 counterfeit chips. Upon inspection, investigators found the fakes lacked a key security feature, details of which were not revealed in court.
Modern casino chips include advanced anti-counterfeiting measures — from high-resolution designs to embedded RFID microchips — making Toh’s forgeries unusually sophisticated.
Found Guilty on 13 Conspiracy Counts
Toh was convicted on 13 counts of conspiracy to exchange counterfeit chips for cash. Prosecutors proved he was directly linked to 420 fake chips but argued he should be held responsible for the full amount lost, suggesting he was either the principal forger or in contact with those who manufactured the chips.
Following the scheme’s discovery, Toh fled to Malaysia, where he was later arrested and extradited back to Singapore. His accomplices, Chia and Seow, received sentences of five years and one year, respectively.
Authorities confirmed that none of the stolen funds have been recovered.
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