The ex wife of the Sultan of Brunei has admitted to having a reckless gambling spree in a trial where her bodyguard is accused of stealing £12m in diamonds, and a man leaps to his death in a Queens Casino.
Gambling: one of the most wonderful and fulfilling forms of entertainment in the world; but boy does it make people do the strangest things, as these two little snippets prove beyond any shadow of a doubt.
The Ex Wife of the Sultan of Brunei in Gambling Debt Shock
Have you heard the one about the former Commonwealth Games silver medalist Badminton player, one of the world’s richest men, and a 57-year old woman? Well read on.
The Sultan of Brunei’s ex wife is currently making appearances at Isleworth Crown Court where she is giving evidence at the trial of her former bodyguard who is accused of stealing £12m worth of her diamonds and replacing them with replicas.
The ex wife is 57-year old Mariam Aziz, who divorced from Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in 2003 after 21-years of marriage; and the former bodyguard is the Commonwealth Games silver medalist badminton player Fatimah Lim.
Lim’s defense rests on the allegations that Aziz was a prolific gambler who asked her former bodyguard to sell the jewelry in order to prevent her from being sued by the casinos she owed a princely sum.
During the trial it was alleged that the 57-year old had lost £500,000 in one night of play at one of London’s fashionable high-end casinos. Aziz rejected further allegations that she had blown £3m in a single night.
The jurors were also told how Aziz forced her Muslim bodyguards to gamble with £1.5k chips despite it being against their faith. Lim has denied any wrongdoing and has told the jury that she was simply following orders from her employer.
Amongst the jewels in question were a pear-shaped 12.71 blue diamond worth £7.6m, a rectangular 27.1-carat yellow diamond worth £600,000, and a £3.3m diamond bracelet.
Despite blowing that half a milly in one evening, Ms. Aziz claims that she doesn’t have a gambling problem.
The case continues.
The Gambler Who Jumped to His Death
A 39-year old man has died from serious head injuries after jumping off a second floor balcony in a Queens Casino on Friday.
The New York Daily News reported that Sayed Alam had jumped to his death inside the Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York, after spending the day playing on the slot machines.
Alam jumped to his death from the top of an escalator and landed in the main lobby of the gambling hall where dozens of gamblers sat watching in horror.
The 39-year old was rushed to the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, suffering from severe head injuries, but died three hours later.
The cause of his leap is unknown, but obscene losses have been ruled out as it has been confirmed that the deceased was up $1,200 at the time of his death.
