Cops bust first ‘online cockfight’ in Sarawak

KUCHING: Police have busted the first ever case of online cock fighting in the State, where bets were placed on fights streamed live from a foreign country.

State CID chief Dato Dev Kumar said the first- of-its-kind case was uncovered yesterday afternoon when a team from CID Kuching raided a shophouse at RH Commercial Centre at Lorong Lapangan Terbang.

“At 3.25pm today ( yesterday) a police team led by ASP Ooi Jin Bing raided a shop that was formerly a steamboat restaurant that had closed down.

“When the team entered the shoplot, they found a group of people watching a cock fight featured on a large TV screen. Later it was discovered that it had been streamed live from a foreign country,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

Dev Kumar added that gambling chips and cash were seen on the tables which led the police team to suspect that bets were being placed on the outcome of the cockfight.

In total, police arrested 10 local males, one of whom was the caretaker of the premises, and three foreign women from China, aged between 30 to 45 years.

Among items used for the gambling activity which were seized were a 48-inch TV, a laptop, calculator, notebook, RM795 cash, and 90 gambling chips valued from RM10 to RM5,000 each.

“From the denomination of the chips, it is clear that huge bets were being placed by the gamblers,” added Dev Kumar.

Al l the suspects are being investigated for an offence under Section 4B (a) of the Common Gaming House Act 1953.