Southern Weekend, 2009-05-28
Tongcheng (Hubei Province) police recently detained five university students in Shanghai on suspicion of criminal gambling after the young men confessed to betting on football (soccer) matches. After obtaining the confessions, police contacted their parents, saying the men could be released “on bail” if each family paid them 100,000RMB—30,000 as a non-refundable “guarantee” and the remainder as “confiscated gambling funds and fines.” If the parents did not pay, police said they would take the suspects to Tongcheng, Hubei, for detention and prosecution. Two families paid the amount in question by, per police instruction, wiring money to one of the officer's wife's personal bank account, and police released their sons. The three other families could not raise the funds, and police, refusing further negotiation after one of the families reported the incident to the local media, took the three remaining suspects to Tongcheng. In response to media inquiries, the political department director of the Tongcheng public security bureau acknowledged some irregularities in police procedure but asserted that “overall the case was not handled incorrectly.” According to legal experts, criminal gambling charges are typically only brought against those who organize and facilitate gambling, not mere participants, who are generally punished under police administrative procedures with confiscation of winnings—in this case estimated at 7,000-8,000RMB—and 3,000RMB fines.
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