Dealer Fined and Sent To Prison for Chip Theft

Working in a casino as a dealer takes a certain amount of discipline, and the temptation of pocketing a few chips must always be huge. Most dealers manage not to get their hands dirty, and then there are those that do. Then, there are those that do, and get caught.

Recently, a Singapore judge sentenced an ex Resorts World Sentosa dealer to 10 months in prison, and fined him just over $8,000. Ding Zhipeng had been found guilty of pocketing chips worth a whopping $56,000 and now it was a case of you do the crime, you do the time.

A Major Breach

A Chinese National, Ding Zhipeng had worked at Resorts World Sentosa since mid 2017 and had started stealing chips around May 2018. He was eventually caught in the act after he had been under surveillance due to acting suspiciously.

The 28-year-old pled guilty to charges that included a violation of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, criminal breach of trust, and a violation of the Casino Control Act. All 3 charges are serious enough on their own to warrant jail time, so when combined it was clear he would be serving time.

Caught In The Act

Ding Zhipeng has been under surveillance for a while by the casinos own security staff and by the local authorities. He had been noted as acting suspiciously, and had been under watchful eye ever since. When his room was searched, officers found $2200 in casino chips and when he was arrested and searched, he had an additional 2 chips in his pants. Cash was also found that was determined to have come from the cashing in of chips, and was seized. Items purchased from the cashing in of chips were also uncovered and included his and hers Breitling watches, an iPad and iPhone, Balenciaga shoes and Chanel earrings.

Zhipeng had used some of the money to splash out on fancy treats not just for himself, but for his girlfriend too, although she was not considered a suspect or a person of interest when the investigation concluded. When questioned in court why he had resorted to stealing, his attorney John Koh stated that his client had needed extra money to help his family in China, but this sympathy ploy clearly failed when the luxury items Zhipeng had purchased came to light.

In order to avoid suspicion, Zhipeng had gotten a friend to cash in the stolen chips, but the trail still lead straight back to him. All the chips were in Singapore dollars and were kept in the trays at the tables where he worked. He had managed to smuggle them out in his pants or seclude them in his clothes so they avoided detection.

Chip theft in land based casinos is relatively rare as ironclad security measures are usually in place, and the threat of getting caught is extremely high. Zhipeng may have ben lucky for a while, but in the end it was clear that cheaters always get caught, and in this case, they get jail time too.