A former policeman who operated a mainland-based bookmaking centre with punters placing bets through an SAR bank account was jailed for nine months yesterday. Yu Leung-chong, 48, was found guilty of dealing with property which he knew or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence. He had denied the charge. Prosecutor Kelly Shui had told the District Court that between April 14 and June 3 last year, $7,096,000 had passed through a Hang Seng Bank account linked to Yu's bookmaking operation, which was based in Dongguan. Judge Peter Line said he accepted defence lawyer Daniel Marash SC's claim that the centre was a 'one-man show' that only dealt with big punters. The prosecution also applied to confiscate the defendant's $7 million property in Fairview Park, Yuen Long, which it believes was bought with bookmaking profits. The forfeiture hearing was adjourned to a later date.
