Five individuals, including two siblings, were fined RM3,000 each by the Magistrate’s Court here today after pleading guilty to charges related to online football betting.
Lee Boon Luun, 34, Ooi Wooi Loon, 41, Weeson Lim, 30, and brothers Lau Chee Boon, 30, and Lau Chee Ewe, 28, admitted to the offence after the charges were read separately before Magistrate Aini Adilah Muhammad Faizal.
The court also ordered each accused to serve five months’ jail in default of payment of the fine.
They were charged with placing bets on football matches via online gambling websites at an apartment unit at Marminton Homes, Lorong Cantik Permai 1, at about 10.30pm on June 27.
Based on the charge sheets, Lee used the GO2WIN.BET platform, while the other four used the NOVA88 gambling website through individual user accounts.
The offence falls under Section 6(1) of the Betting Act 1953, which provides for a maximum fine of RM5,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Nur Farihin Ahmad urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing the need to curb illegal gambling activities.
The five were represented by counsel MS Catherine Joysce from the National Legal Aid Foundation, who pleaded for leniency, saying all her clients were first-time offenders.
She said their guilty pleas had saved court time and costs and should be considered in mitigation.
According to her, Lee is a salesman earning RM2,400 a month who supports his parents, while Ooi is unemployed, divorced, and has two school-going children.
She added that the remaining three accused had recently lost or left their jobs.
Magistrate Aini Adilah then imposed the RM3,000 fine on each accused, with five months’ jail in default, and ordered the forfeiture and disposal of all seized exhibits.
All five individuals paid the fines.
The case comes amid a wider crackdown on illegal football betting activities linked to the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Police previously arrested 28 individuals and dismantled two football betting call centres under Op Soga XI.
Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Dennis Lim Abdullah said 21 raids were carried out statewide between June 11 and June 19 targeting betting syndicates linked to the tournament.
Authorities also seized RM8,935 in cash along with computers, mobile phones, communication devices, and other equipment used in the operations.
In a separate incident, the George Town Magistrate’s Court recently rejected a police remand application involving four individuals detained in connection with football betting activities, including foreign nationals.
