In an effort to recoup his losses, a Singaporean man who gambled on a Resorts World casino cruise ship and lost over S$2,000 (US$1,558) later threatened the operator with bombs.
Neo Hui Ghim, 41, entered a guilty plea to one count of spreading misleading information concerning a dangerous circumstance. The punishment, which was originally set for September 22, has been rescheduled for October 27. According to The Straits Times, he could receive a sentence of up to seven years in prison, a fine of $50,000, or both.
Fast Arrest
Prosecutors claim that Neo and his parents traveled from Singapore to Malaysia and back in October 2023 aboard a Resorts World Cruises (RWC) ship. Neo had hoped to attend a shipboard performance, but all of the seats were taken. According to court filings, he gambled at the casino instead, losing the money over a number of visits.
Neo emailed Resorts World Cruises' customer support department on October 13 with the subject line "Bomb at Resorts World Cruises," mere hours after the cruise concluded.
“Please return me back my monies else the ship will explode, and everyone dropped into the sea,” read the email.
Neo was promptly found to be the culprit as, somewhat foolishly, he sent it to the same location where he had to make the cruise reservation.
Within three hours of threatening to do so, he was taken into custody, but not before upsetting some 4,000 vacationers who were getting ready to board the next ship.
“In response to the threat, the police, together with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and security officers from the cruise center, conducted extensive checks on the ship. No threat items were found on board the vessel,” police said at the time.
Desperate Behavior
Neo is not the only person who has taken drastic steps to avoid paying off a gaming debt while on a casino cruise ship.
In an attempt to escape paying the US$16K he lost in the onboard casino, Royal Caribbean cruiser Jey Gonzalez-Diaz leaped overboard earlier this month.
In Puerto Rico's Port of San Juan, Gonzalez-Diaz was pulled ashore after being pulled out of the ocean by a passing jet-skier. He is being held by the federal government.
