SINGAPORE - One of the three leaders of a local organised criminal group that operated two gambling websites was on Thursday (March 3) sentenced to nine years, eight months and two weeks in jail.

Seet Seo Boon, now 57, who earned a profit of at least $19,000 per month from the collection of bets through the two websites, was also fined $620,000.

He will spend an additional 310 days behind bars if he is unable to pay the amount.

The Singaporean pleaded guilty in December last year to seven charges for offences that include those under the Organised Crime Act, as well as for dealing with the benefits of his ill-gotten gains. A total of 54 other charges were considered during sentencing.

The court heard that in less than two years, the group managed to collect $97.68 million in revenue from one of the gambling websites.

In an earlier court proceeding, Deputy Public Prosecutors Dwayne Lum, Chong Yong and Lee Wei Liang said Seet was "behind one of the most profitable and elusive illegal remote gambling syndicates which thrived under the cloak of technology for half a decade".

The cases involving the other two men - his brothers Seet Seow Huat, 66, and Seet Sian Thian, 74 - are still pending.

The Organised Crime Act - aimed at fighting crime syndicates - was passed in Parliament in 2015 and took effect in June 2016.

Seet Seo Boon was arrested in 2016 in a crackdown on criminal syndicates. He had earlier appeared in court in 2017 and was among the first people to be charged under the Act.

The prosecutors said Seet Seo Boon and his brothers decided to set up their own remote gambling website in 2011 to facilitate the collection of illegal 4D bets from agents and punters.

With his brothers' help, he recruited and instructed at least 49 shareholders, agents and administrative staff, who, in turn, recruited other agents and collected illegal bets from punters.

The DPPs said: "In this manner, the accused meticulously organised and expanded the syndicate's operations, successfully turning it into a profitable, money-making enterprise, with its estimated ill-gotten revenue exceeding ($1 million) per week."

Seet Seo Boon recruited a Malaysian man, known only as "Guo Zhi", to help create the online betting platform, which was launched in mid-2011.

The brothers also actively encouraged members of the organised criminal group to refer and recruit other members.

They avoided detection from the authorities by interviewing the prospective members personally, and accepting only suitable candidates who agreed to their terms.

A second remote gambling website was later launched in 2013. Investigations revealed that Seet Seo Boon was its administrator and owner.

The DPPs said: "There was no one else above the position of an owner of the (second) website. As the owner, the accused had the power to register new betting accounts and to recruit agents and shareholders."

The shareholders, including his brothers, were given betting accounts and access to the website. They were also allowed to register their bets on the website.

Seet Seo Boon later earned a 15 per cent commission from the total value of bets placed through both websites.

He also earned an additional 5 per cent to 10 per cent from the total winnings arising from his agents' and punters' bets.

The court heard that he bought an apartment in a River Valley condominium for more than $1.7 million in 2007.

From January 2013 to February 2015, he used more than $156,000 of his ill-gotten gains to settle the monthly instalments for the mortgage taken for the unit.

Acting on information, police later went to his other home in a Tampines condominium on Nov 27, 2016, and arrested him.

On Thursday, Seet Seo Boon was offered bail of $75,000 and was ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on April 11 to begin serving his sentence.