SINGAPORE – The smell of cigarettes and alcohol was palpable as police officers raided a gambling den located in a good class bungalow (GCB) at 1am on March 7.

Twelve people, mostly Chinese nationals, huddled around a table as the media entered a room on the second floor of the house in Jalan Kampong Chantek in Bukit Timah.

They were arrested during the raid led by Tanglin Police Division.

It was one of several anti-crime operations conducted between March 5 and 8 by the police, Housing Board and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.

Six areas were hit – Toa Payoh, Novena, Bukit Timah Road, Orchard Road, Balestier Road and Selegie Road.

A total of 62 people – 29 men and 33 women – aged between 18 and 73 years old are being investigated for various offences, including illegal gambling and working at massage parlours.

When police officers raided the GCB, a group comprising three women and nine men were playing “jiu tong”, a popular game in China involving mahjong tiles.

ST understands the bungalow was rented by a tenant who allegedly ran the gambling den.

Checks by ST showed bungalows in the area are worth between $10 million and $20 million.

The gambling den was in a room adjacent to a living room, where some of the suspects were being questioned.

The room had a 10-seater dining table with built-in induction cookers.

More than 30 bottles of alcohol, including at least 15 bottles of Moutai, a Chinese liquor that costs about $500 to $600 a bottle, were displayed on a shelf. Cans of beer and packets of cigarettes were strewn around the room.

Officers seized mobile phones and gambling-related paraphernalia.

An ambulance arrived at the bungalow at about 2.30am to take one of the suspects, a woman in her 20s, to a hospital as she felt unwell.

Under the Common Gaming Houses Act, those convicted of using a place as a common gaming house can be fined between $5,000 and $50,000 and jailed for up to three years.

Those convicted of gaming in a common gaming house can be fined up to $5,000 or jailed for up to six months, or both.

Toa Payoh mahjong den

Earlier that night, the police raided a four-room HDB flat in Toa Payoh Lorong 8, which was allegedly hosting mahjong games that had been advertised on social media.

A police spokesperson said the home owner, a middle-aged woman, was allegedly using one of the bedrooms to host gambling sessions.

ST understands participants had to pay an entrance fee and a $15 service fee to play.

When the media entered the flat at around midnight, the home owner was being questioned by an officer. Her husband and daughter were sitting in the kitchen.

Two players, a man and a woman, were also in the room giving their statements to the police.

Three women and two men, all Singaporeans, were arrested.

Over the four days, other locations were also raided.

On March 5, police officers raided massage parlours and commercial units in Toa Payoh, Balestier Road and Orchard Road.

A total of 20 women, aged between 18 and 48, were arrested for offences under the Women’s Charter Act and Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Another raid was conducted in Toa Payoh between March 7 and March 8, where six men and two women were arrested for illegal gambling. Over $3,900 in cash and other gambling-related items were seized.

The police also conducted enforcement checks at KTV outlets in Selegie Road, where they arrested six women, aged between 22 and 32 for offences under the Women’s Charter Act and Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

Join ST’s WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.