A Malaysian man was handed a heavy fine by the court in Singapore after he pleaded guilty to not providing a full and accurate report to an authorised officer on the movement of cash exceeding S$20,000 (approx. RM65,200).
The accused was Chan Wai Hoo, who was fined S$10,000 (approx. RM32,600) for the offense.
Brought RM978,000 to S’pore to gamble
According to Shin Min Daily News, Chan and his wife were making their way into Singapore via the Tuas Checkpoint with S$300,000 (approx. RM978,300) in cash on Nov 7, 2024, which he intended to spend on gambling at the Marina Bay Sands casino.
They were then stopped by an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer for a routine check and asked whether they had anything on had to declare.
In response, Chan showed a letter from Marina Bay Sands dated Mar. 22, 2024, which stated that he had won a total of S$347,800 (approx. RM1.1mil) between Nov. 1, 2023, and Feb. 29, 2024, along with a suitcase containing the money.
He also told the officer that a manager at the Marina Bay Sands casino told him he did not need to declare the cash as long as he showed authorities the letter.
Story falls apart
However, Chan’s account quickly unraveled when authorities pressed him further on it.
He later admitted in a statement that he had lied about what the Marina Bay Sands casino manager told him, saying it was all false and that he didn’t declare the money to customs as he felt it was “too troublesome”.
He also claimed he said he and his wife only brought S$10,000 or S$15,000 (approx. RM32,600 or RM48,900) each time they came to Singapore when he was questioned during investigations if he had previously brought over S$20,000 in cash or out of Singapore but failed to declare it.
The truth was eventually revealed when Chan’s casino deposit account was checked against ICA records, where multiple deposits and withdrawals of sums over S$20,000 from the account were made when he entered and exited Singapore in 2023 and 2024.
Pleads guilty
In August 2025, Chan was slapped with seven charges for not declaring the money. He pleaded guilty to one charge on Oct 2 and asked the court to show leniency.
Chan’s lawyer also told the court that Chan fibbed about the casino manager and did not declare the cash accurately due to being nervous and not thinking thing through carefully.
Under Singaporean law, travellers carrying over S$20,000 in cash must declare it when entering or leaving the country as not doing so can lead to a fine of up to S$50,000 (approx. RM163,000), three years in jail, or both.
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