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The
New Paper, 5 Apr 04
Retrenchment money lost at gaming table
By Low Ching Ling
THEY got laid off and handsome payouts to tide them over until they
find another job. Out of work, with time and extra cash on their hands,
they decided to try their luck at the gaming table. But Lady Luck
did not smile on them.
Instead of striking it rich, some got so seriously burnt they lost
their entire retrenchment pay packets. Worse, they ended up deep in
debt.
Debt collector Richard Ang said he had been hired by casino junket
operators to collect from gamblers who owed the operators money. He
took on about 10 to 20 cases during the Sars period last year and
after the Sep 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, when the economy took
a beating and many Singaporeans were laid off.
Said Mr Ang: 'Many of them were retrenched because of their high salaries.
'And because they had also worked at the company for a long time,
they got huge compensations. 'Some were too free, so they went to
gamble. 'Those who couldn't get jobs became desperate and so they
tried their luck. 'Then there were those who downgraded their HDB
flats and had extra cash on their hands.'
Mr Ang noted that many of these gamblers were middle-aged, educated
men who used to hold mid-level jobs. They had wives and children.
He said they told him of their sorry circumstances when he went to
their homes to collect the debts. 'They went on junkets, and were
attracted to the freebies that casinos offer. They travelled there
free, and ate and drank for free. 'As a result, they became addicted,
and lost all their hard-earned money and life savings.' The operators
are responsible for settling the gamblers' losses with the casinos.
Mr Ang said these gamblers could chalk up losses ranging from $20,000
to $100,000, which could be equivalent to, or more than, their retrenchout
payouts.
He explained that junket operators hired debt collectors to collect
the money owed as gambling losses are not recognised as legal debts
in Singapore, as ruled by the Court of Appeal in a case in February
2002.
Another debt collector who gave his name only as Alan said he has
handled three to four cases that required him to collect gambling
debts incurred at casinos. Two other debts collectors we spoke to
said they have never done such cases. Mr Ang pointed out: 'It was
hard to recover the full sum they owed. There was nothing we could
do if they didn't have the money. 'So I made them an offer to pay
in instalments. 'Up till now, some are still paying off their debts.'
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