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BY NG KAI LING WRONGDOERS at casinos here can expect to be dealt the red card. Mr T. Raja Kumar, outgoing chief executive of the Casino Reg- ulatory Authority (CRA), said the watch- dog will not hesitate to prosecute anyone once it has sufficient evidence of any ille- gal activities. This includes “throwing the book” at ca- sino operators if they are found to be com- plicit in those crimes. He said this in an interview on Monday when he gave a report card on what CRA has done during his three-year tenure. So far, more than 110 people have been charged in court with casino-related crimes and overall crime in the two casinos here was well under control, he added. The 46-year-old will be handing over the reins to Assistant Commissioner of Po- lice Lau Peet Meng today and returning to the force as Deputy Commissioner of Po- lice (Policy). Mr Raja said CRA had been keeping a close eye on the casinos even before allega- tions of illegal junket activities surfaced, and investigations are ongoing. Junket operators are middlemen who, for a commission, bring in big players to gamble at casinos and also bear the burden of giving credit to players. No junket licences have been issued yet. Mr Raja added: “When we have suffi- cient evidence of illegal junket activities, we will prosecute. And if we find that the operators are complicit in allowing this to happen, we will not hesitate to throw the book at them.” “What we found out is, there may well be illegal betting activities that are going on which are quite distinct from illegal jun- kets,” he noted. These may take the form of “insurance” bets which The Straits Times understands are private wagers made with bookmakers, not the house. For example, in baccarrat, punters bet on player or banker. The winning hand is the one with the highest points, out of a possible nine, after drawing up to three cards. If the player’s hand has seven points, punters can wager separately with illegal bookmakers that the banker does not get eight or nine points. If that is the case, bookmakers pay up to four times the bet placed with them. If the player’s hand has nine points, these bookmakers are known to pay up to nine times the wager that the banker does not tie the game with nine points. So far, at least three illegal bookmakers have been charged with offering private bets to casino patrons. Asked if the operators have a responsibil- ity to report such activities, Mr Raja said it is in their interest to work with the authori- ties as such activities take away business from the casino. He said CRA will issue junket licences only when it is ready to do so, as it wants to ensure that junket operators are “clean”. “There is a whole range of junkets out there and we have to be on guard that or- ganised crime and other syndicated activi- ties don’t try to use the junkets as the spearhead to come to Singapore,” he said. Looking back on his three years at CRA, the career police officer said one of the big- gest challenges for his team was to come up with a regulatory framework, and for officers to hit the ground running the mo- ment Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands opened last year. CRA sought out overseas regulators like the Nevada Gaming Control Board in the United States and the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation in Queensland, Austral- ia to tap their expertise and experiences. While these jurisdictions already had frameworks in place, these could not be im- ported wholesale. For example, the family exclusion order was adapted from the gam- ing regulations in South Australia, while an- other safeguard, the $100 entry levy for Singaporeans and permanent residents, is unique to Singapore. CRA officers also had work stints in Ne- vada. Mr Raja said there is currently a review to see how his 120-strong team can do their jobs better. “We have to take a look at whether the current provisions are strin- gent enough and whether CRA needs more regulatory levers to be able to get informa- tion, to be able to get the necessary evi- dence to pursue a case.” CRA is also reviewing some of the penal- ties under the Casino Control Act and whe- ther more staff are needed. [email protected] Almost half the doctors at National Healthcare Group Polyclinics studied medi- cine overseas, although only 20 per cent are foreigners. Today, one in three of its foreign doctors attends language classes – mainly in Mandarin and Malay. Its spokesman added: “Most tend to pick up another language during their daily interactions with their colleagues, which helps them communicate with patients.” Dr Dariusz Olszyna, 40, of the National University Hospital (NUH), already speaks Indonesian, and is now learning Mandarin. But his assimilation goes beyond just speak- ing the language. The Dutchman, a specialist in infectious diseases, wanted to “understand what drives people here”. So he lives in Jurong, eats at hawker centres and shops at neigh- bourhood malls. He said: “After 2 1 /2 years here, I feel very much at home.” NUH liver surgeon Krishnakumar Mad- havan, who is in his early 50s, took a course in basic Mandarin at Edinburgh Uni- versity before coming here in 2007 to work. He is originally from South India, so he already speaks Tamil. Dr Faulke’s fellow anaesthetist, Dr Ted Wong, did one better. He came to Singa- pore for a one-year stint and now, 15 years later, he is still working at SGH – and is married to a Singaporean. Dr Wong, 45, a Canadian, said he likes the work at SGH, the friends he has made and the local food. And he has started a family here. He added: “Through the years, I have managed to pick up simple phrases in Man- darin, Hokkien, Malay and Tamil from col- leagues, friends and patients. This has been useful when I need to provide simple instructions to patients.” Beyond language, some foreign doctors have also set good examples in patient care. In April, then Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan read out a letter from a man who praised several foreign doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for the care they gave his 89-year-old mother. She had 15 very demanding children, the son wrote in his letter. But the soft skills of the foreign doctors won them over. He praised Dr Pankaj Handa, 51, who came from India nine years ago and has since become a permanent resident, be- cause he “listens, shares his wisdom and knowledge and is decisive”. [email protected] www.facebook.com/ST.Salma FROM PAGE B1 Regulator tracking claims of illegal junket activities, says outgoing head Dr Pankaj Handa, a consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s department of general medicine, giving his patient Tamby Haji Ahmad a routine check-up. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM SUTRA HOLIDAYS Fashion suited for the SUTRA June 2011 SUTRA June 2011 New York Travel: Great destination for women! Casino crime under control: Watchdog chief Setting good examples that go beyond speech homeL THE STRAITS TIMES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 2011 PAGE B2
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