The former lawyer and a one-time star debater at the National University of Singapore law faculty, Tan Cheng Yew, who had been on the run for six years until his arrest in 2009 was jailed for nine years yesterday for criminal breach of trust and cheating involving a total of $4.8 million. Apparently, the root cause was due to his debts incurred from gambling. He told the court he picked up gambling from a client in the late 1990s and began gambling heavily in 1998. He gambled at casinos in Australia as well as on cruise ships, and chalked up debts. See: Fugitive lawyer gets 9 years' jail and Fugitive lawyer’s life on the run My comments: Gambling addiction is very real. It comes with all forms. The obvious one is the frequent visitation to the casinos, now just a few bus stops away. The not so obvious one ......