Legal proceedings have been initiated against a famed Vietnamese cai luong (reformed theater) singer after he was found allegedly gambling, following a performance in a Mekong Delta province in June, police said Sunday.
Kim Tu Long, a 47-year-old Meritorius Artist, a title given by the government to those with outstanding achievements in arts, has been charged with illegal gambling, according to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Van Minh, a deputy police chief in Vinh Long Province.
Vinh Long police earlier raided a gambling ring and arrested 27 people who were playing cards for money on board a barge, with Long at the scene, on June 26.
They seized two decks of playing cards, 22 dice, 28 mobile phones, US$1,345, VND443 million ($21,120) and four motorbikes. The dollars and VND335 million ($15,950) of the Vietnamese cash belonged to Long, according to the police.
Many of the gamblers have testified that the artist bet VND500,000 ($24) to VND1 million ($48) on many games of cards before the police’s swoop, Minh said.
Long had admitted that he placed VND900,000 ($43) in three games “for fun” after he had finished a performance at a proposal ceremony close to the barge.
He then explained that the huge cash he was carrying consisted of the fees for his performances at the ceremony and another concert in a nearby province, and his own cash to be used to pay for his apartment in Ho Chi Minh City.
Long is out on bail, pending investigation.
The local police have also indicted seven other people, hailing from different provinces in the Mekong Delta, in connection with this gambling ring.
Cai luong is a theatrical form of modern folk opera favored by people in southern Vietnam, especially those in the Mekong Delta.
Gambling in any form, except for dog and horse racing, is banned in this Southeast Asian country.