SINGAPORE: A Singaporean businessman was ordered to pay over A$ 38 million ( S$ 33.7 million ) after racking up a huge gambling debt at a Gold Coast casino, an Australian court ruled on Monday ( Sep 9 ).
Wong Yew Choy, who lost his money at The Star Gold Coast game in Queensland, would also have to give the resort’s fees and interest, which date back to September 2018, according to Judge Melanie Hindman of the Brisbane Supreme Court.
According to court records, Dr Wong was invited to The Star game in July 2018. He had then face a loss of A$ 47, 300, 000 in baccarat, a type of game card activity, in the course of a few weeks.
But after subsidies and another allowances under an agreement with the game, the costs were reduced to A$ 43, 209, 853.22.
The prosecutor noted that Dr. Wong had left Australia without making a settlement with the game, which he said was “unlikely.”
The Star Gold Coast used a blank check provided by Dr. Wong on a past playing trip to The Star Sydney to pay off the debt.
But, the check bounced because Dr. Wong had instructed his banks to stop paying any checks The Star Gold Coast has drawn from his account in August 2018.
According to an arrangement he had made with resort’s chief operating officer Paul Arbuckle that he did not have to pay any costs incurred up until July 2018, Dr. Wong made written needs, but he refused to pay.
The casino , sued Dr Wong in 2019 to restore the A$ 43 million,  , escalating the subject to Singapore’s High Court. The judge decided that there were issues of fact that could n’t be resolved without a trial, and the case was dismissed in 2020.
Although Dr. Wong had complained about the way blackjack traders had dealt him the cards during many incidents, court records revealed that he had also played baccarat at The Star.
Following those events, Dr. Wong immediately stopped gambling and the game gave him a reason to complain, but he eventually resumed.
The COO afterwards apologized in a letter of apology for the betting situations following a conversation between Dr. Wong and Mr. Arbuckle.
Dr. Wong claimed that there was also a verbal agreement between Mr. Arbuckle and him during their talk that the Singaporean would not be required to pay for any loss suffered up until that point.
Mr. Arbuckle denied reaching a similar deal with Dr. Wong, and the apology letter even did not mention the billionaire’s obligation to pay his debt.
Justice Hindman argued that the alleged agreement made by Dr. Wong is not supported by any other supporting information presented in the trial, including the letter of apology.
The prosecutor also made note of Dr. Wong’s claim that the reported agreement is significantly different from the oral arguments he made at trial.
The accused has not provided any defense to the plaintiff’s product claim, which the complainant has made out. She stated that she will pay the plaintiff’s wisdom with expenses and interest.
While Dr Wong had incurred a reduction of A$ 43, 209, 853.22, the game reduced the amount by A$ 4, 550, 000 for reasons not currently content, court records showed.
Therefore the amount sought by the game from Dr Wong is A$ 38, 659, 853.22 plus attention and prices.