STOPPING ILLEGAL GAMES SALOONS

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Home Affairs what further steps his Ministry intends to take to stop the operation of illegal games saloons.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Police have been actively dealing with the problem of illegal games saloons in Singapore. Last year, the Police intensified its enforcement actions and carried out some 3,000 checks against illegal saloons. This resulted in the seizure of about 1,800 illegal game machines and the arrest and prosecution of 663 persons who operated and patronised these illegal saloons. Of these, 119 were operators and 544 were patrons. Summons actions were also taken against another 170 persons under the Public Entertainment Act.

With these enforcement actions, Police estimated that there are now less than 50 active saloons which operate sporadically changing their locations and hours of operation to avoid detection. Police will spare no effort to track down and act against these remaining saloons.

The Ministry is monitoring the situation closely and will consider amending our laws to provide for greater deterrent sentence should the situation worsen despite active police enforcement.