Monday, November 13, 2006

All 23 people charged with offences relating to an illegal gambling den at
Senegal's consulate in Singapore have posted bail and are scheduled to
return to court, news reports said on Saturday. The five people accused of
assisting in managing the consulate's premises as a gambling house each
posted 20,000 Singapore dollars (19,600 US dollars) bail on Friday and were
scheduled to return to court on December 8. Police raided the five-storey
consulate building on November 3 and found three of its meetings rooms had
baccarat tables and the fourth was being used as a bedroom. The consulate
was doubling as an illegal casino, packing in up to 100 enthusiasts a night,
with bets ranging from a minimum 100 Singapore dollars (64 US dollars) up to
30,000 Singapore dollars (19,600 US dollars).
Another three men and 15 women, mostly Indonesians, were released on
10,000-Singapore-dollars (6,369 US) bail after indicating they wanted to
plead guilty to helping manage the casino as card dealers and dice tossers,
the report said. They are scheduled to return to court on November 17. All
23 face fines of between 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,184 US) and 50,000
Singapore dollars (31,847 US) and up to three years in prison. Benny Kusni,
the honorary consul, is out on bail of 10,000 Singapore dollars (6,369 US).
The 36-year-old Indonesian had earlier insisted he knew nothing about the
den and only handled visa matters at the consulate. International
conventions to not grant honorary consults immunity from local authorities.