5 Indians charged with using fake casino chips in Singapore

Singapore, Jan 1 (PTI) A court in Singapore has framed
charges against five Indians for allegedly using fake casino
chips at a resort in the city state, local media reported
on Saturday.
The Indians are accused of using an unknown number of
counterfeit chips valued at SGD 1,000 each by exchanging them
into smaller denominations of the genuine chips at Marina Bay
Sands casino on last Thursday.
Maqsud Ibrahim, Gurav Vishal Sopan, Shettiyar
Kunabalan, Soheel Ahmad Jalih Ahmad and Asfaq Usman were
arrested from the Changi Airport here on Friday and remanded
to police custody. The court has fixed January 7 as the next
date for hearing.
If convicted, each of them face a jail term of up to
seven years and/or a fine of up to SGD150,000.
The five Indians were given the fake chips in Mumbai
to try out at the Singapore casino, according to a report by
The Straits Times.
This is the first case of its kind since the
casino-based Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands opened
for business in February and April 2010, respectively.
Meanwhile, MBS said in a statement that its chips have
anti-counterfeiting features such as holograms and ultraviolet
fluorescence, and radio-frequency identification inserts to
track the chips.
Casino chips are of high quality and difficult to
replicate, said Tony Compton, who lectures on casino
management at Boston Business School.
"Each casino chooses its own unique style and design.
For example, the chips used at MBS have a specific logo that
is very hard for forgers to make. Casino staff are also
trained to spot counterfeit chips," Compton was quoted as
saying. PTI