6 M'sian men jailed after storming King Albert Park GCB with machetes & baseball bats, robbing poker players of S$4.9 million

Two Malaysian men who had run into financial difficulties decided to rob a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) in the King Albert Park area, knowing that the house hosted high-stakes poker games that ran up to hundreds of thousands.

In order to subdue all the players, they recruited five other men, also from Malaysia, to help them.

On Apr. 18, 2024, the group of seven entered the house armed with machetes and baseball bats.

They managed to steal about S$4.9 million after tying up 11 people in the property.

Although they managed to flee and escape to Malaysia, six of them were eventually arrested and brought back to Singapore.

The last man remains at large and is believed to have left Malaysia for Thailand, court documents seen by Mothership stated.

The six men, Wong Chi Shan, 35, Goh Boon Tong, 30, Mohd Hamidon Ahmed, 49, Kartik Palaniappan, 34, Mohd Hashim Ismail, 51, and Muhammad Tauffiq Ahmad Fauzi, 34, pleaded guilty to various charges, including armed gang robbery.

Wong and Goh also pleaded guilty to a separate charge related to sex services by Japanese women.

All six were sentenced to jail on Sep. 14.

House hosted high-stakes poker games

Wong and Goh were the masterminds behind the robbery.

Sometime in November 2023, Wong and Goh came to know about high-stakes poker games taking place in the house through their friend, who had participated in these games.

Besides the enormous sums involved, the robbers also knew that the players would settle payment by way of cryptocurrency.

When they later visited the house, the pair observed that its gate would be left open, with the wooden door unlocked for the duration of the poker games.

Sometime in March or April 2024, the pair ran into financial difficulties and Wong suggested robbing the house.

Knowing that they would not be able to handle the scale of the robbery on their own, they decided to engage more “muscle” to participate in the robbery.

Goh roped in Hamidon, who ran his own private security firm and also provided debt collection services.

The three met to discuss and planned that Hamidon would recruit men to "intimidate and subdue" the victims.

The pair offered Hamidon RM1.5 million (S$466,113), which would be split among his team.

Hamidon obtained a deposit of RM10,000 (S$3,113) before recruiting the others, who were not told the full details of the illegal operation.

The robbery

The team failed to rob the house twice on Apr. 15 and 16, 2024, before eventually going through with it on Apr. 17 night.

A poker game was taking place that night.

Hamidon and his team, who had prepared black clothing, ski masks, gloves, duct tape and cable ties, drove into Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint at about 10:45pm on Apr. 17.

They met Wong and Goh at a car park in Geylang, where they were shown photographs of the house and their entry route into the house.

The seven men drove to the house and parked outside before 2:05am on Apr. 18.

Goh, Yusuf and Kartik were armed with a machete each, while Tauffiq and Hashim carried baseball bats.

Poker game

The game was hosted by a Chinese national, whose husband was the tenant of the house, while another Chinese national assisted with the game.

A South Korean national was engaged as the card dealer, while a Malaysian masseuse was hired to massage the players.

There were seven guests, comprising Singaporeans, an Indonesian, and a Chinese national.

Tied victims up

The robbers entered the house via the unlocked gate and main door while the poker game was still taking place.

They first encountered a man who had just exited a toilet and taped his mouth, wrists and ankles.

They then moved to the living room, where they shouted at the victims to raise their hands, lower their heads and place their phones on the table.

Out of fear, the victims complied, and were bound and made to sit in a corner of the living room.

The robbers went on to search the house for valuables.

Goh and Wang later discovered sizeable amounts of crypto in the hostess's phone apps and carried out crypto transfers to a wallet they controlled.

The group also stripped the victims of their cash and valuables, emptied the cash held in a safe in the living room and ransacked a bedroom.

The seven men later escaped into Johor Bahru past 2am on Apr. 18 and arranged to regroup in Kuala Lumpur.

Victims called police

Back at the house, some of the victims managed to free themselves and called the police to report the robbery.

The victims were later medically assessed for injuries, with some sustaining minor injuries on their wrists from being bound.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) later identified the robbers and established that they departed Singapore for Malaysia right after the robbery.

The six men were arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police and later extradited to Singapore.

Of the S$4.9 million stolen, SPF has recovered about S$1.69 million in cryptocurrency, while the remaining sum in the form of cash, valuables and more cryptocurrency was not recovered.

Masterminds sentenced to 12 years and 11 months, 24 strokes

In sentencing, the judge called the robbery an "audacious and well-planned" one, according to CNA.

Saying that Singapore is "by and large a safe country", he warned that "those who disturb that peace and security" can only expect to be "treated severely".

Wong and Goh were each sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in jail, reported CNA.

They were also given 24 strokes of the cane and a fine of S$4,000.

Meanwhile, Hamidon was sentenced to 10.5 years in jail, while Kartik and Tauffiq received seven years and eight months in jail.

All three were given 24 strokes of the cane as well.

Hashim was sentenced to eight years and eight months in jail but could not be caned as he is above 50 years old.

Those convicted of armed gang robbery can be sentenced to a jail term of 5 to 20 years, along with caning of up to 24 strokes.