Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday charged two employees of the NagaWorld hotel and casino with breach of trust following allegations that they colluded with gamblers to cheat at cards, court and union officials said yesterday.
Khieu Channary and Lim Bunteng allegedly confessed to police that they were involved in a cheating scam, according to deputy prosecutor Sok Roeun.
“I charged them on Friday of breach of trust and sent them to [Prey Sar] prison for pretrial detention,” he said. The court is still investigating the case, and it will soon be passed to an investigating judge, Mr Roeun said.
Sok Narith, secretary-general of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Worker Federation, said that Ms Channary, 21, was a baccarat dealer, while Malaysian national Mr Bunteng, 41, was a security camera operator. Three other casino workers were also arrested in the case and later released, he said.
Deputy National Police Chief Sok Phal said yesterday that police had arrested five workers on Wednesday and Thursday, and that two had confessed to providing information to players.
Mr Phal would not say whether the casino had lost any money as a result of the scam. He also declined to say how long the pair had been cheating, or why police had not arrested any players who may have been involved in the alleged crimes.
NagaWorld was guarded in what it would say yesterday about the incident.
“As a law-abiding corporate citizen and for public interest, NagaWorld has reported a cheating gaming case to the National Police of Cambodia on 2 Sept,” Eric Chan, managing director for sales and marketing, wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “NagaWorld is confident that the government of Cambodia shall take the necessary actions to resolve the case.”
He declined to comment further.
The Khmer-language newspaper Kampuchea Thmey reported yesterday that a gambler had won more than $1 million as a result of the scam.
According to the casino’s website, NagaWorld will host a high-stakes baccarat tournament next month with a total prize fund of more than $60,000.
(Additional reporting by Ian Williamson)
