A Singaporean who was among four charged with attempting to fix a SEA Games football match between Timor Leste and Malaysia was denied bail on Wednesday.
Rajendran R. Kurusamy, 55, who is facing three corruption charges, had tried through his lawyer Edmond Pereira to get bail to attend to family matters as well as a medical condition.
Mr Pereira said his client had a problem with his liver, and had missed two scannings scheduled at Mount Elizabeth.
He said Rajendran’s family is in Singapore, and there is no likelihood of him leaving the country.
He added that his client was in Malaysia in 2010 after selling his business here. While Rajendran was facing labour-related offences in 2011, he returned to answer them and was allowed to attend to his business in Malaysia, he said. The matter was eventually dealt with.
Mr Pereira said if need be, his client could report to the investigation officer daily and the court could impose conditions for bail.
“He should not be held just for the sake of being held because he has been involved in such match-fixing activities,” he added.
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Navin Naidu argued that Rajendran’s charges were non-bailable offences, and there was a high risk of him absconding if released on bail.
He said Rajendran had a previous conviction for match-fixing in Malaysia and had a strong propensity to commit such offences.
He has the means and ability to survive overseas, the DPP added.
There is a real risk that the SEA Games – which are ongoing – could still be fixed, and the danger of witnesses being tampered with, he told the court.
To date, several people have been arrested in the course of investigation and released on agency bail. These were either potential witnesses or even potential accused persons, the DPP said.
District Judge Eddy Tham rejected counsel’s application for bail and remanded Rajendran, whose pre-trial conference is fixed on June 18.
A pre-trial conference for the other accused – Orlando Marques Henriques Mendes, 49, a technical director of the Football Federation of Timor Leste; former Timor Leste player Moises Natalino De Jesus, 32, and Nasiruddin, 52, an Indonesian who goes by one name – is fixed for June 15.
Local singer and actor Ashmi Roslan died on Wednesday (Jun 10). He was 34 and is believed to have suffered a heart attack.
In a statement on its Facebook and Instagram pages, MediaCorp Suria described him as a local artiste with great talent – adding that he first rose to fame after appearing in the 2006 season of Anugerah Skrin.
BELASUNGKAWA: Suria berdukacita dan ingin merakamkan takziah atas pemergian artis tempatan berbakat besar, Allahyarham…
Ashmi last appeared on the variety stage via Projek Kasih, and was part of the main cast for Jalan Ampas, a drama also starring Fizah Nizam and Hashimah Hamidon that is currently airing on Suria.
Tributes have begun pouring in for Ashmi, who had a wide circle of friends, many of whom are in the entertainment business.
Local performer and creative director at Sri Warisan – Som Said Performing Arts, Ms Marina Yusoff, described Ashmi as a “very pleasing, respectful person” in her condolence message on Facebook.
“You go too soon my brother,” she added in another post, accompanied by a photo of them having a meal together.
The Noose’s Suhaimi Yusof also took to Facebook, just before midnight on Wednesday: “Just received the news. At such a young age, Ashmi Roslan has passed away because of a heart attack.”
According to Ashmi’s Instagram page, he had been warded in hospital just about a week ago. In the post, he described the experience as an “unexpected turning point”, saying he was thankful for “a reminder to better take care of (himself)”.
Shanti Pereira ended Singapore’s 42-year wait for a women’s sprint medal on the tracks by clinching the 100m bronze on Tuesday evening.
The sprinter enjoyed an uncharacteristically good start and clocked 11.88s to finish third in the 100m race at the National Stadium.
Kayla Richardson of the Philippines won her race in a photo-finish, edging ahead of Thailand’s Tassaporn Wanakit after both clocked a time of 11.76s.
Her win gave the Philippines a double as Eric Cray blew the opposition away in the men’s event with a new personal best of 10.25s, finishing ahead of Indonesians Boby Yaspi and Iswandi, who both clocked 10.45s.
Thailand’s Jirapong Meenapra, the 100m and 200m champion at the last SEA Games in Myanmar, finished a disappointing fifth in 10.48sec.
Singapore’s two sprinters, Calvin Kang (10.47s, personal best) and Amirudin Jamal (10.55s) finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
Four men who were earlier charged for allegedly conspiring to fix a SEA Games football match faced additional charges on Friday (Jun 5).
Rajendran R Kurusamy, 55, was charged with agreeing with the other three accused to offer money to at least seven other players in Timor Leste’s SEA Games football team so that they would lose the match against Malaysia on May 30.
He was also charged with giving S$1,000 to Orlando Marques Henriques Mandes, the Technical Director of the Football Federation of Timor Leste, to arrange for his football team to lose the Malaysia match. He was previously accused of agreeing to give S$15,000 to Orlando as a reward.
Orlando was given two additional charges, for accepting the S$1,000 and offering money to the said players in his football team.
Former Timor Leste football player Moises Natalino De Jesus and Indonesian Nasiruudin were given an additional charge each for conspiring to bribe the football players.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Navin Naidu said that the prosecution had asked for bail not to be extended to the four accused as there was a high risk of them absconding Singapore, given previous incidents of match-fixers doing so.
DPP Navin was also worried that letting the accused parties out on bail meant that they could tamper with other witnesses. It was previously reported that not all persons-of-interest have been apprehended.
No plea from the accused parties was taken by the court. However, Orlando objected to the prosecution’s no-bail request, saying that he needed to look for a lawyer.
He also said that he did not consent to the offences he was alleged to have committed and that it was “just an offer made to the players”. Orlando claimed there was no black-and-white agreement signed pertaining to the alleged offences.
Rajendran, who is represented by defence counsel Edmond Pereira, will have his case heard on Jun 10, where his lawyer will make a submission for bail to be offered. The prosecution maintained their stance for bail not to be offered.
No bail was offered to the other three accused, who are unrepresented. Their case is fixed for a pre-trial conference on Jun 15 at 3pm.
The answer to the biggest secret in town was finally revealed on Friday evening when Singapore’s football legend Fandi Ahmad and his eldest son, national Under-23 striker Irfan, lit the cauldron for the 28th SEA Games at the Sports Hub.
Since his national team debut in 1979, Fandi has never relinquished his position as the country’s most successful and celebrated footballer. His enduring popularity can be attributed to his work ethic, talent, charisma and clean living.
Wang Meng Meng takes a look at the career of the former national captain and current coach of the LionsXII.
1. A star is born
It all began in 1978 when Fandi Ahmad led Singapore A to the Lion City Cup. Fans were thrilled to see the skinny teenager skippering the country to the trophy and scoring eight goals in the process.
A year later, he made his full international debut with the Lions in a SEA Games match against Indonesia, making him the country’s youngest-ever debutant then at 17 years, three months and 23 days. That record stood until 2007, when Hariss Harun earned his first cap against North Korea aged 16 years, seven months and five days.
In 1980, the young Fandi became a national hero when he scored the winning goal in the 2-1 Malaysia Cup final victory over Selangor.
2. Making a name for himself overseas
Fandi Ahmad was offered a contract at Dutch giants Ajax, but turned it down. — PHOTO: ST FILE
Firmly established as a star striker in Singapore, Fandi ventured abroad and was offered a three-year contract by Dutch giants Ajax in 1982. However, the homesick striker turned it down.
But he was back in the Netherlands a year later, joining Groningen. There, he hit a career high point when he scored in a 2-1 Uefa Cup win (now Europa League) over Italy’s Inter Milan.
3. Returning to his roots
Fandi Ahmad lifting the trophy after winning the Malaysia Cup in 1994 at Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor. — PHOTO: ST FILE
Fandi Ahmad carrying the trophy after winning the Malaysia FA Cup final against Kelantan at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on May 23, 2015. — PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN
After successful spells in Malaysia with Kuala Lumpur and Pahang, Fandi returned and in 1994, he captained Singapore to the M-League and Malaysia Cup double.
As a coach, Fandi won two S-League titles with Singapore Armed Forces FC (2000, 2002) and was named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2000.
In 2014, he returned home to take charge of the LionsXII after coaching overseas in Indonesia and Malaysia and last month, he guided the team to Malaysian FA Cup glory, beating Kelantan 3-1 in front of 87,000 fans at Bukit Jalil Stadium.
4. The Fandi brood
Fandi Ahmad finally tied the knot with South Africa-born model Wendy Jacobs in 1996 at the age of 34. — PHOTO: ST FILE
One of Singapore’s most eligible bachelors finally tied the knot with South Africa-born model Wendy Jacobs in 1996 at the age of 34. The couple went on to have five sporty children. They are:
Fandi Ahmad (second from right) with his wife, Wendy Jacobs, and children (from left) Iman, Ikhsan (standing in red), Iryan, Ilhan and Irfan. — PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER FILE
Irfan: The 17-year-old, who lit the cauldron with Fandi, is a striker with the national Under-23 football team competing at this SEA Games. Standing at 1.87m, the teenager wears the No. 17 jersey like his famous father and has impressed with his aerial power, eye for goal and willingness to work hard for the team.
Ikhsan: Just like Irfan, 16-year-old Ikhsan is a forward but he plays differently, relying on his bag of tricks and speed to get past markers. Fandi’s second son is currently training with Chilean top division club Universidad Catolica.
Iman: A former sprinter with the Singapore Sports School and once the fastest girl over 100m in primary school competition, the 15-year-old Iman is now making a name for herself as a budding model and fashionista.
Ilhan: Another striker to roll off Fandi’s production line, Ilhan, named after Turkey’s ex-World Cup star Ilhan Mansiz, has already showed plenty of promise. Two years ago, when he was 10, the skinny forward scored four goals to help Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) beat Henry Park Primary 4-3 to win the National Primary Schools Football Championship.
Iryan: Born on National Day in 2006, the cherubic Iryan is the youngest in Team Fandi. Following in the family tradition, he has picked up football and is now a budding player at ACS (Junior).
5. His legend lives on
Fandi Ahmad (right) with wife Wendy Jacobs (centre) as they pose with the football legend’s wax figure at ITE College Central on Oct 8, 2014. — — PHOTO: BH FILE
Off the field, Singapore’s favourite footballing son continues to be adored by the public, who never forgot his contributions to the country.
In 2013, Fandi was honoured by Madame Tussauds with a waxwork in his likeness, joining other Singaporean icons like singer Stefanie Sun and sitcom character Phua Chu Kang. However, wife Wendy cheekily commented that the figure’s buttocks were not as large as her husband’s.
National sports agency Sport Singapore has also honoured Fandi ahead of this SEA Games by producing a video chronicling his childhood. The 12-minute YouTube clip, entitled Ordinary, sees the re-enactment of how the young Fandi is inspired by his late father, former Singapore goalkeeper Ahmad Wartam, to dedicate himself to football.
