Singapore’s High Court has found that Resorts World Sentosa held a rowdy patron with insufficient cause, according to a report in the Straits Times. The property detained patron Goel Adesh Kumar for 46 minutes following an altercation in which he was involved. Goel was awarded over ,915 for wrongful imprisonment, pain and suffering and medical expenses—or almost ,000 per minute.
Justice Choo Han Teck handed down the ruling, in which Resorts World was found to have acted beyond the scope of its authority under the Casino Control Act when it held the man in April 2012.
“The casino has not proven that it has any lawful basis to detain” the patron, the justice stated. “Although casino operators in Singapore are required… to take ‘all appropriate steps’ to ensure that patrons are not ‘drunk, disorderly or riotous,’ (the act) does not confer a legal basis or power on the casino to detain its patrons.”
Goel had been gambling for about 12 hours when he got into a fight with a couple over a $50 chip. Goel was led away, but not permitted to leave. He was later found to have a fractured shoulder, which he said was the result of manhandling by auxiliary police who worked at the casino.
He sued RWS for false imprisonment and demanded more than $400,000, the Times reported. The casino’s share of the final damages is $36,732. The rest must be paid by Sats Security Services, a third party in the lawsuit.
