Players forcefully escape through the window of a South Korean police station
Ten Vietnamese players who escaped through a window of a South Korean police station in the middle of the night were arrested again, according to authorities in the southwestern city of Gwangju.
The 10 people were among 23 Vietnamese nationals arrested early Sunday morning at a casino in the city. While waiting to be questioned on suspicion of illegal gambling, they managed to slip in through a 20cm opening in the tilted window.
The mass escape was not discovered until about 6:40 a.m. on Sunday.
Fear of deportation
Authorities said the 10 were undocumented immigrants who fled to Vietnam fearing deportation. Other members of the group hold documents allowing them to stay in the country.
As a developed country, South Korea's economy is much wealthier than that of Vietnam, a developing country. The latter also has an authoritarian government that practices political repression.
Still, seven refugees had surrendered to police or immigration authorities as of Monday evening, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. Three others were found at homes or factory buildings in Gwangju after police analyzed security video and interviewed witnesses.
All ten will be sent to immigration authorities for deportation once police complete their investigation and may charge them with evading arrest, officials said.
Foreigners only
South Korea has strict gambling laws. Although the country has 18 licensed casinos, South Korean citizens are still prohibited from gambling there. But there is one exception: Gangwon Land Casino, located in the highlands of Gangwon Province.
Since South Korea's criminal laws apply to citizens around the world, Gangwon Land is also the only place on earth where they are legally allowed to gamble.
Vietnam also has foreign-only casino gambling laws in place, which could explain why Vietnamese players might head to South Korea. Why they would choose to play in illegal casinos when they could play at home is unclear.
The Vietnamese government is currently running a pilot program and is considering amending the law to allow entry by locals. The aim is to allow locals to play games at the country's two casinos to assess the impact on the population. Officials say disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have made it difficult to collect enough data.
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Source: www.casino.org
