BC Poker Champ Winner Arrested for Murder
Written by Matt W | Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Sophon Sek, winner of the 2009 British Columbia Poker Championships was on a high last Saturday after beating a large field of players to take home the title.
The 30 year old player, who is known to be a Red Scorpion gang associate, was given a credit note to come and claim his winnings that totaled $364,000.
Yet 24 hours later, Sek was behind bars, after being arrested for his part in the murder of six men in 2007.
The Surrey Six murder case captured the imagination of Canadians, where six people were gunned down in a Whalley condominium. The murders, which saw the death of innocent bystanders, were linked to drug trafficking in Vancouver suburbs and Sek, who is associated with the gang, has been charged with at least assisting the murder of the six.
Sophon Sek was arrested soon after the BC Poker Championships tournament, and his lawyers are now trying to overturn a police order to have his casino winnings frozen until further notice.
Sek is arguing that he is innocent until proven guilty and therefore the police can’t stop the casino from paying out the cash.
The Great Canadian Gaming Corporation has been unwittingly dragged into the case after being told by the police to withhold payment.
The Vice President of the corporation, Howard Blank, issued a statement that said: “The RCMP has informed us it is the same person who won our tournament and the RCMP has requested that the funds be held for his winnings. So the funds have not been issued to the winner.”
Blank went on to say that the first time he made the connection between Sek and the Surrey Six case was when the player did not return the day after the tournament to claim his check. It was then that he was informed by the police that the poker player had been arrested for murder.
“He has been going about his life as if nothing has happened,” said the mother of one of the Surrey Six victims. “We see him playing poker while we as parents grieve. It seems fate is coming back to bite him. I truly hope he never gets to use it [the prize money].”
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· Written by Matt W · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
