Man fined RM2,800 for illegal lottery ticket purchase

KUCHING: The Magistrate’s Court here fined a local man RM2,800 in default two months in jail for purchasing illegal public lottery ticket last week.

Jais Barham, 52, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Zubaidah Sharkawi to a charge framed under Section 9 (1) of the Common Gaming Houses Act 1953, which carries a fine of up to RM5,000 or imprisonment up to six months or both, upon conviction.

He committed the offence in a 24-hour eatery at Jalan Bandar Baru Samariang at around 1.25 pm on Jan 25.

According to the facts of the case, a police team raided the eatery on suspicion of operating an unlicensed public lottery activity.

In the raid, a man was arrested and some items used in the activity were seized. This included a piece of paper with lottery numbers and RM20 in cash.

A report from the gambling expert confirmed that the seized items were indeed unlicensed public lottery ticket, purchased by Jais.

Insp Ammarsoffi Yusoff prosecuted the case while, Jais is unrepresented by counsel.