Owner Illegal Casino in Newmarket Avoids Jail
Yanxian Liu, the co-owner of a Chinese restaurant in Newmarket, New Zealand, is said to have run an illegal casino from his restaurant. He avoids a prison sentence, but must return all the money he has earned from illegal gambling and other practices.
According to the New Zealand Herald, visitors to the restaurant played mahjong for real money. Mahjong is a game that is very popular in China. The restaurant does not have a legal gambling licence and was not allowed to offer any gambling activities.
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$ 140,000 in Illegal Activities
In addition to the income earned through the illegal casino, the co-owner of the Chinese restaurant also earned from illegal cigarettes. In addition, he gave loans to people in the restaurant, without having the correct papers to be allowed to do so. In total, Liu is said to have stolen an amount of approximately $ 140,000 with the illegal activities.
Liu must now hand in this total amount, the court in New Zealand has ruled. The police had found this amount of money, along with about 14,000 illegal cigarettes, during a search they did in June 2021. The law enforcement also found Liu’s phone, which contained images of people gambling with large sums of money, and a check list containing money that was owed to Liu by gamblers.
No Prison Sentence
The suspect immediately confessed to the New Zealand police that he was guilty of the illegal practices. The total amount obtained from the illegal trade in cigarettes and the illegal casino will be forfeited. It is surprising that the man got off without a prison sentence. The fact that it now only remains with the collection of the money may have to do with the fact that no charges have ever been filed against Liu.
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No Explanations Given
The police have not explained why there won’t be any prosecution against Liu, despite having an apparent criminal record. Numerous cases have occurred over the years of Chinese citizens moving abroad in exchange for lifelong debt. They are often forced to work in or manage commercial establishments to finance their emigration. If they can’t make their scheduled payments, the ones holding the debts — often Chinese triads — are known to torture and even kill family members.
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