A FORMER Senegal diplomat was jailed eight weeks yesterday for turning the African country's consulate here into a high-end gambling den where punters dropped $30,000 on a single game of cards.

Sujono Kusni admitted to allowing a thriving casino to run inside the East Coast Road office in a sensational case that saw the consulate hand out visas during the day and host high rollers at night.

About the case SUJONO Kusni is the latest person convicted in connection with an illegal casino that operated in the Senegal consulate on East Coast Road. ... more

The 38-year-old, who was also caught with several different passports, is among at least two dozen people jailed in connection with the casino, which operated in October and November 2006.

Yesterday, a now jobless Kusni pleaded guilty to nine charges and saw 13 others considered by District Judge Chia Wee Kiat. He admitted to making over $23,000 in the venture.

In addition to the eight-week jail term, Kusni was fined $40,000 for allowing the casino to operate and $24,000 for passport-related immigration offences.

Honorary consuls, who are generally businessmen appointed to promote trade and tourism, are not entitled to diplomatic immunity.

Kusni, an Indonesian and Singapore permanent resident, is no longer working though his two children are studying here. But in 2006, he was taking home thousands a week for letting several accomplices set up a casino in the Senegal consulate, located in a largely empty East Coast building called Lau's Arcadia.

The den featured a VIP room with card games like baccarat, where the stakes ranged from $300 to $30,000, according to an undercover investigation by The Straits Times that exposed the operation. It was learnt it boasted over 300 members and had at least $1 million in chips.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Luke Tang said yesterday that the consulate was raided on Nov 3, 2006 and 31 people arrested. Four days later, Kusni surrendered. After his arrest, immigration officers discovered he had several passports bearing different birth dates and names.

His lawyer, Mr Low Hui Hui, said Kusni had been taken in by his accomplices, who promised to set up a club for businessmen interested in investing in Senegal. That group, which had hundreds of members, eventually moved its base to the consulate and began gambling.

'In his zealous efforts to promote trade between the businessmen and Senegal, he allowed them to engage in gaming activities in the premises,' said Mr Low. Kusni, who was made honorary consul in November 2005, regretted the crime, he said.

Three men who bankrolled the venture were sentenced to between four and six weeks last year.

elena@sph.com.sg