The Star Entertainment will perhaps finally get the chance to collect a long-awaited debt from Dr Wong Yew Choy, a VIP high roller from Singapore. Namely, Dr Wong played baccarat at The Star Gold Coast Casino in Australia back in 2018 and managed to accumulate a debt worth $43 million.
After Star Entertainment took legal action against the player from Singapore, the Singapore International Commercial Court ruled in the high roller’s favour, saying the gambling company has no legal grounds to demand payment owned by Dr Wong.
Allegedly, the judge from Singapore stated that the lawsuit goes against Section 5(2) of the Civil Law Act which forbids the restoration of gambling debts. However, a judge from Brisbane decided to overrule the attempt of Dr Wong Yew Choy to nullify the lawsuit initiated by The Star Entertainment Group.
Even though Justice Thomas Bradley who took the case at the Queensland Supreme Court allowed The Star Casino to go on with legal proceedings, he’s convinced that the casino operator will have a hard time restoring this enormous debt.
The reason for this is the verdict of the court in Singapore that has found a loophole thanks to which Dr Wong can walk free without paying what he owns to The Star Gold Coast.
Player Cancelled the Cheque He Initially Signed
According to the records of The Star Entertainment, Dr Wong Yew Choy enjoyed playing the game of baccarat at The Star Gold Coast Casino from July 26, 2018 to August 2, 2018. During this period, the VIP high roller got to a point of owing $43 million.
He then signed a blank cheque to settle his casino loss and other expenses and returned to Singapore. However, once he went back to his country, Dr Wong simply cancelled the signed check.
The first time Dr Wong had to face Singapore’s High Court was in February 2019 when The Star Entertainment decided to go after the indebted player. Yet, he decided to fight this lawsuit and applied to revoke it.
Now, the casino is doing its best to find a way to get the money owed by Dr Wong back. One of the ways this could possibly be done includes recovering the cancelled cheque the player signed before leaving the casino premises. To make this happen, The Star Entertainment had to refer to a cheque cashing facility agreement that may help in cashing out the cheque in question.
Still, the SICC still hasn’t decided if the Australian casino has the right to any legal action, considering that the above-mentioned Section 5(2) of the Civil Law Act prevents it from addressing the Singaporean court with regard to this issue.
Therefore, The Star Entertainment will have to come by all the proofs that clearly indicate Dr Wong’s debt size, as well as the legal obligation to return the money owed to the Australian casino operator. This time, the hearing will take place in court in Australia where Dr Wong will have to explain his actions and, hopefully, pay the casino back those $43 million.
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