Binondo cops seize 18 fruit game machines

The police have seized 18 illegal fruit game machines and arrested 36 persons in an intensified crackdown against illegal gambling in Binondo, Manila.

The crackdown is an offshoot of the two-strike policy of Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales, who warned his 11 police station commanders they will be relieved if two successive arrests are made in their areas of jurisdiction.

The 18 fruit game machines, nine of which were imported from China, were seized from high-rise condominiums in Binondo patronized by Chinese high-rollers, according to Meisic police station chief Superintendent Nelson Yabut.

Some of the machines were seized at Internet shops, where students were mostly its customers. The fruit game machines operate like a casino’s slot machines.

At the same time, 26 people were charged for working for illegal racehorse bookies, while seven players of street gambling games cara y cruz and tong-its were nabbed. Three operators of the “color game,” another gambling game, were also arrested.

Yabut, however, admitted that exclusive Chinese club members are still playing high-stakes mah jong games with the connivance of building security guards. Mah jong games are illegal if they are played in more than two tables even in private rooms.  

According to Yabut, the guards themselves tip off the players to the presence of policemen. Yabut said he will recommend the cancellation of the licenses of security agencies whose guards are proven to be protectors of illegal maj jong games. “These security guards are mandated to report to police any illegal activities within their assigned post,” he said. – Nestor Etolle