The Malaysia police were again active in an anti-Internet gambling clampdown this week, raiding a number of cyber cafes and confiscating a significant amount of computer equipment.
Police in Subang Jaya, a residential town in the Klang Valley in Selangor, Malaysia hit three cybercafes and seized 90 computers in a surprise raid Tuesday night following tip-offs from local sources. Police director Mohd Zulkurnain Che Ali, said that the three premises, to which entry had to be forcibly achieved, had computers containing gambling chips.
The operators and clients escaped through a back door whilst police were breaking in, the police commander told The Star newspaper.
Earlier in the week, on Monday morning, a similar raid was carried out in Puchong Utama, Puchong Perdana, Puchong Prima and Puchong Indah in what police claimed was the biggest anti-gambling raid so far this year. 13 premises were sealed and 281 sets of computer equipment and gambling software were confiscated. Again, it was necessary for police to force their way into some of the premises.
“Just like in Subang Jaya, they tried closing the centres as soon as they saw us approaching, so we cut open the locks, said a police spokesman. “Some of these operators have been raided numerous times in the past yet they do not seem fearful and are continuing to flout the law.
“But we will not let up. While this may be true, we also want people to know that the sealing and seizing of property causes substantial losses to the operators,” he said.