The upcoming elections could delay the Gaming Co-ordination and Inspection Bureau’s (DICJ) efforts to finalise its junket audit by the end of the year, diverting manpower from the DICJ’s already insufficient forces to oversee not only resting rooms and common areas of integrated resorts but also junket rooms.
In a prior response to Business Daily enquiries, the DICJ noted on May 24 that: “Even with the addition of the new hires [the process of which is not yet finalised], we think the staffing level has still not yet reached the ideal level in respect to the rapid growth of our workload”.
Yesterday, the Electoral Affairs Commission met with representatives from the six gaming operators, as well as four junket operators, the DICJ and the local anti-graft body, the Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) to reiterate that influencing employees or visitors to vote for certain candidates is illegal, with a penalty of up to three years in jail.
When asked whether any other departments would provide manpower to the DICJ to aid in its oversight efforts, Electoral Affairs Commission Chairman Tong Hio Fong noted that: “The government is a team and we, each service, is following the law, according to the responsibilities given it. […] For example illegal subversion is under the CCAC to investigate. And to follow this law we count on the help of various departments/services; namely, the Electoral Commission, the DICJ and the police.”
The Chairman also addressed the complaints filed by some gaming employees that they’d been coerced to support a certain candidate list, noting that the CCAC in yesterday’s meeting had “given instructions to the operators that the candidate lists, when acquiring signatures on their candidate list, cannot use any influence or threat” to sway their vote, or acquire their support.
Business Daily contacted the DICJ after the press conference for comment but had not received a reply by the time this went to press.
