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| Photo beside the bus stop outside City Hall shows gamblers placing bets of between $200-$500 per game |
Hong Kong police launched a surprise raid on illegal gamblers
near a bus stop beside City Hall in Edinburgh Place last Saturday, Apr 4, but
left the place empty-handed.
The Police Public Relations Branch said the force received
information around 3pm that groups of migrant workers were illegally gambling
with playing cards near the stop for bus 13 at City Hall.
But when officers arrived, the groups of workers betting on
the card games as well as the South Asian bankers scampered, said Filipino
migrants who saw the incident.
“There was no illegal gambling when the officers arrived. No
one was arrested,” a PPRB spokeswoman said on Apr 5.
In a recent statement, the Hong Kong Police said that it
“has spared no effort in combating illegal gambling activities and has been
monitoring such illegal activities for enforcement.”
However, the illegal betting in Central continued, even after
the Consulate issued an advisory on Mar 4 against the activity, and warned of
the stiff penalties that await offenders.
The PCG issued the warning after the police called its
attention to groups of Filipino workers who were illegally gambling in various
areas in Central.
According to Consul General Raly Tejada, he personally
visited the notorious site after the warning was put up to plead with the
Filipinos gambling there to stop, but was ignored.
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| The footpath around City Hall has been roped off, but gamblers simply squat on the area beside it. |
A video taken on Mar 15 showed workers milling around three
groups of gamblers beside the Bus 13 stop. The bankers were South Asian men who
were being assisted by Filipinas. Other South Asian men mixed with kibitzers
and served as lookouts.
Bets laid on the playing mat ranged from $200 to $500 and
money changed hands quickly.
A walk around Central recently showed groups of workers also
gambling at another hotspot, the vicinity of the HSBC headquarters along Queen’s
Road and Des Voeux Road
Similar groups could also be seen playing cards for small
bets along a footbridge linking Chater
Garden in Central and Queensway Plaza
This time, however, the card or bingo players were complying
with the four-to-a-group rule by the government to help stop the coronavirus
spread.
