Deputy District Court Judge Andrew Chan was told that seven men aged between 36 and 49 conspired to swindle accountants on five occasions between March and August last year in a gambling scam colloquially known as Tin Sin Kuk (Heavenly Swindle).

Prosecution counsel Roderick Wu said that on each occasion, one of the defendants, Cheok Weng-son, would approach a certified chartered accountant, posing as an employee of a new company hoping to set up business on the mainland. Cheok would propose a meeting between the accountant and his "boss'' in a restaurant or a hotel, where the accountant would eventually be led into playing a game of cards.

On the five known occasions, each accountant lost between HK$180,000 and HK$620,000 after their cards lost to the three "Jacks'' held by one of the other conspirators.

A gambling expert is expected to appear to show how a deck of cards can be arranged so that a conspirator can always be dealt a "hand'' larger than the accountants.

The victims of the scam were later led to cash points to draw out money, or were forced to write checks ortransfer money into specially opened accounts to pay their debts, Wu told the court.

Certified chartered accountant Yuen Kim-hung

told the judge he had lunch with a group of businessmen in a private room of a restaurant in Festival Walk after being approached about an accounting job in August last year.

A "Mr Yip'' had claimed to be the general manager of "Suprema International Limited.''

Yuen said that, after conversations about business affairs, "Mr Yip'' and his supposed business associates began talking more casually about their hobbies.

Eventually, the conversation turned into a debate about who was more skilled at gambling.Even though Yuen told them he did not know how to play cards, they insisted that he joined in, since their playing skills would be better tested if there were more players.

Yuen told the judge that he won several hundred dollars in the first two rounds of "show hand'' but, after the fourth or fifth round, "the stakes were suddenly drastically increased.''

Since he did not have enough cash, he was told to note down the amount of money involved in each round.

On this occasion, Yuen said the stakes were worth HK$123,000.

When the cards were revealed, he was told that his three nines had lost out to another player's pair of aces and pair of sixes. At this point, a team of police officers who had been in surveillance burst into the room and made the arrests.

Photographs were taken of the cards laid on the table.

Yuen identified three of the defendants in the dock of the courtroom as other players.

Counsel for the defendants, Patrick Loftus, reminded the judge that Yuen was acting on instructions from the police.

"Simplistically speaking, you went and took part in the game at the request of the police,'' and not as an accountant seeking business, submitted Loftus.

Chan also asked Yuen, "Did the police say you could or you should (take part in the card game)?''

Yuen replied that the police said, "It's best that I took part.''

Yuen also told the judge he did not take into consideration the question of whether he would win or lose.

The trial continues today.

albert.wong@singtaonewscorp.com