• Daryl Tan You Ming, 26, pleaded guilty to using criminal force on the victim
• He also admitted breaking Covid-19 rules and allowing his premises to be used for gaming
• At least 18 people participated in a poker session
• The offences were committed during phase two of Singapore’s reopening last July when social groups larger than five were banned

SINGAPORE — After agreeing to let a friend organise a poker session at his warehouse, in breach of Covid-19 rules, Daryl Tan You Ming also joined some others in accusing a fellow player of cheating when they were gambling.

They beat the victim up, before Tan’s friend allegedly transferred S$70,000 from the victim’s bank account and made him sign a handwritten document declaring that the “debt” had been paid off.

On Thursday (June 17), Tan, 26, was sentenced to three weeks’ jail and fined S$8,000 for his actions on July 29 last year.

Singapore was in its second phase of reopening at the time, with only five people allowed to gather for social purposes to stem the spread of Covid-19.

He pleaded guilty to one charge each of exceeding the maximum group size allowed, using criminal force on the victim Ian Lee Enyuan, and permitting another person to use his space as a common gaming house.

District Judge Ronald Gwee took into consideration another gaming charge for sentencing purposes.

PEOPLE CAME AND WENT

The court heard that Tan rented a unit at the Northstar @ AMK building, located along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, with another man. They shared the space and split the rental payments equally.

A few days before the poker game was to be held, Tan handed over his set of keys to his friend Lee Tian Ci, who then passed it to Kesigan Emmanuel Santhakumar, 25.

Before this, Tan had also allowed Kesigan to use the unit to host poker games on a few occasions.

Kesigan has been charged in court and his case is pending.

When the game — a popular variant of the card game known as Texas hold ‘em poker — started at about 10pm on July 28 last year, at least 18 people were playing. Each game comprised up to 10 players and a dealer.

Tan showed up at about 1.30am and joined in while not wearing a face mask. At the time, 10 people were playing while some others stood around to watch the game.

The composition of the group changed frequently as several persons came and left after playing a few rounds of poker.

At about 3am, eight people were left at the unit including Tan, Mr Lee and Kesigan.

Kesigan then asked to speak to Mr Lee privately and confronted him about his cheating. However, Mr Lee denied this, claiming he had made a mistake in covering two poker cards on the table.

At Kesigan’s request, Mr Lee proposed to return about S$200 to S$400 to make amends, though he claimed to have won only S$100. The group began arguing when the others did not accept his proposal.

ASSAULTED THE VICTIM

Kesigan soon allegedly asked Mr Lee to pay S$50,000 in compensation. The sum was roughly three times the average buy-in amount of S$1,000 for 15 players.

When Mr Lee disagreed, they began bargaining and he offered S$900 instead, saying this was what he had in his bank account.

Kesigan then purportedly punched Mr Lee on the nose in anger, causing him to bleed profusely.

Kesigan, Tan, his friend Lee Tian Ci and another man, Lee Kar Wai, demanded to know how much personal savings Mr Lee had but he refused to disclose this.

When the group found a mobile phone in his bag, they began questioning him more aggressively as they believed he was lying about the true state of his personal finances. They then got him to unlock the phone and hand over his wallet.

With that in hand, Kesigan allegedly bought 40 iPhones from e-marketplace Lazada using Mr Lee’s DBS debit card.

Tan grabbed Mr Lee by the hair and shook his head up and down. Kesigan also allegedly kneed Mr Lee in the face and the others joined in the assault, before telling him to wash off the blood on his face in the toilet.

Kesigan then purportedly logged into Mr Lee’s online banking account, increased the funds transfer limit to S$70,000 and transferred this sum into his friend’s account. This was almost all of the S$73,000 that Mr Lee had.

After this, the group prepared a handwritten document for Mr Lee to declare that he owed Kesigan S$70,000 and that the debt had been paid off, and that he did not wish to pursue the matter further.

Kesigan took a video of Mr Lee signing this document.

Mr Lee was taken to the National University Hospital later that evening after lodging a police report. He suffered a small cut on his face and a possible broken nose.

‘IMPULSIVE’ ACTS: LAWYER

Deputy Public Prosecutor Michelle Tay sought the sentence imposed, noting that Tan was not the main organiser of the game and there was no evidence that he earned profits.

In mitigation, Tan’s defence counsel — Ms Tania Chin from law firm WithersKhattarWong — told the court her client had initially assumed that the gathering would be limited to their usual small group of five.

Tan claimed that Kesigan had prepared food, beer and a cake to celebrate Lee Tian Ci’s birthday. But when Tan arrived, he allegedly noticed there were a few others there.

Ms Chin said that while Tan tried to wait out the argument between Kesigan and Mr Lee, it was already past 7am and he got tired of waiting. He then grabbed Mr Lee’s head “to impress upon him the lateness of the hour” and told Mr Lee to hurry up.

When Kesigan purportedly kneed Mr Lee, Tan allegedly rushed to get some tissue and ice to help him out and also called for a private-hire car for him, added Ms Chin.

“It was really a case of him being impulsive,” the lawyer said, adding that his employer has agreed to let him continue working there after serving his jail term.

For breaking Covid-19 laws, Tan could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$10,000, or punished with both.

For using criminal force, he could have been jailed for up to three months or fined up to S$1,500, or both.