Prevent gambling from cockfighting

(Baonghean)- Because of its high level of competition, cockfighting has always been an attractive folk game, attracting many participants. However, cockfighting is being exploited and transformed into betting and gambling, especially during the New Year and Spring...

At the end of 2015, there was a rumor that in An Thinh block, Quynh Thien ward, Hoang Mai town, there was a cockfighting arena with a design large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, along with accompanying services.

Present in the An Thinh block area on the morning of December 12, 2015 as a person with chickens looking for a betting "ring", right from a small roadside coffee shop, he learned that the "ring" had been around for quite a while; the owner of the "ring" was Ho Si Xuyen, about 50 years old; a discreet person, rarely appearing at the "ring" but leaving it to dozens of juniors to manage...

Ho Sy Xuyen's cockfighting ring operated on December 12, 2015 (photo cut from Clip).

Getting into Mr. Xuyen’s “ring” is not difficult because people come and go quite busily. Receiving parking tickets cut from a block of mica, the parking attendant will enthusiastically guide you into the ring, where hundreds of faces are shouting and cheering for the two pairs of “fighters” of chickens.

Looking around, Mr. Xuyen's "ring" has two circular "stone cages" built of concrete with an area of ​​about 20 square meters. Above each "stone cage" there is also a lighting system and a timer. Around are dozens of chicken cages with names and numbers waiting for their turn to enter the ring. Most of the people present here participate in betting. The form of betting is by match, or by "pool". A match can have from 3 to n 5 "pools"; each pool is about 10 minutes. After the shouts of "100 for four hundred", "500 for two million, who gives up"... from the host, the participants bet up to tens of millions of dong.

A "cock owner" said that once when bringing a cock to a match, the owner of the Ho Sy Xuyen betting house collected 150,000 VND; if the bet won, he would pay an additional commission. As for the participants, it depends on them, each time they bet from a few hundred thousand VND to tens of millions of VND. "Depending on the financial capacity of each person" - this "cock owner" said. According to a participant in the "betting house", it is known that the "betting house" operates two days a week, Saturday and Sunday. Here, for two hours (from 10 to 12 o'clock), through observation, there were 4 pairs of cocks competing with the odds of winning or losing approximately tens of millions of VND...

Fighting cocks preparing to go to the fighting ring (photo cut from Clip)

More than a week later, at a meeting with Nghe An Newspaper reporters, Chairman of Quynh Thien Ward People's Committee, Mr. Phan Duc Diem, acknowledged that there was a situation of cockfighting being transformed in the area, but because of the "motion", they stopped. "My maternal relatives are also there, so I have this information" - Mr. Diem affirmed. According to Mr. Diem, Mr. Ho Sy Xuyen had previously opened a "deck" and was fined. In 2014, he began to show signs of resuming activities. By the end of 2015, because many people were coming in and out, the ward reminded the police to monitor...

Head of the Propaganda Department of Hoang Mai Town, Mr. Nguyen Anh Van, said that, in response to information about the "cockfighting ring" of Ho Sy Xuyen, the Standing Committee of the Town Party Committee requested the Town People's Committee and the Town Police to inspect and verify. According to the report of the Hoang Mai Town Police, Ho Sy Xuyen (born in 1963) organized gambling in the form of cockfighting in his family's garden. The cockfighting location is hidden deep at the end of an alley, surrounded by many houses, making it difficult to detect and approach. The subjects who come to bet or watch cockfighting must be acquaintances, close friends or introduced by the homeowner. The main operating hours are on Saturdays and Sundays.

Faced with that situation, the town police deployed professional measures, repeatedly sent scouts to break in, collect information to determine if there was a betting line to organize and catch it red-handed for thorough handling. However, during the monitoring process, some information about this cockfighting spot appeared on the internet, so Ho Sy Xuyen stopped operating. However, from the process of collecting evidence, Hoang Mai Town Police summoned Ho Sy Xuyen and related subjects to investigate, clarify, and handle according to the law.

From parking, Ho Sy Xuyen's gambling den has earned a lot of money (photo cut from Clip).

Mr. Nguyen Anh Van also said that after Ho Sy Xuyen's "deck" was stopped, there were signs that people who were addicted to cockfighting were starting to set up "deck" in neighboring areas. Therefore, the Standing Committee of the Town Party Committee directed the Town People's Committee and the Town Police to continue to monitor, patrol and detect gambling spots of all forms in the town to prevent and handle them thoroughly.

In the province in recent times, there have been many gambling cases from cockfighting that have been discovered and handled according to the law. A typical case is the case that Nam Dan district police clarified on August 14, 2014 at the house of Trinh Phi Hung (36 years old), residing in Ba Ha block, Nam Dan town.

Here, the police detained 94 people to investigate the crime of gambling and organizing gambling in the form of cockfighting. The seized evidence was more than 184 million VND in cash, 300 USD, 4 cars, more than 54 motorbikes, more than 100 phones and 22 fighting cocks. The key subjects in this case were later given appropriate punishment.

However, gambling disguised as cockfighting still exists in some localities in the province. In fact, unlike lottery and football betting, gambling from cockfighting involves many people, so it is easy to detect and measures to combat and prevent it are not difficult.

Even through websites related to cockfighting, it is possible to search for information about "cockfighting arenas". Therefore, law enforcement forces need to detect and prevent cockfighting and gambling when it first appears, and eliminate this evil in their localities. Do not let a folk game, imbued with the beauty of the nation's traditional culture, be distorted.

PV - CTV