SINGAPORE - The authorities have recently obtained an order from the High Court to confiscate about $260,000 from the gambling-related offences of a 62-year-old man who helped an illegal bookmaker to accept online soccer bets.

In a statement on Monday (Aug 26), the police said that the man, Lien Sheong Chye, assisted Terence Voo to obtain an online account with the website www .greysnow. com. This allowed him to receive soccer bets illegally.

Under the arrangement, Voo would recruit punters to place soccer bets through the account. Voo also agreed to share the winnings or losses from the bets with Lien.

Financial investigations by the Commercial Affairs Department showed that between Jan 2012 and July 2014, Lien accumulated an unexplained wealth of $258,666.14. These ill-gotten gains were derived from his dealings with Voo. The entire sum was seized by the police at the start of investigations.

Lien, who was investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department and Commercial Affairs Department, was jailed for three months - or 12 weeks - on Feb 16, 2017 for helping Voo.

Last Friday, the prosecution obtained a confiscation order from the High Court for Lien's $260,000 that were derived from his gambling-related offences.

The police said that they would not hesitate to take action to deny criminals of their ill-gotten gains. Tough enforcement action would be taken against anyone who is involved in illegal betting activities, regardless of their roles.