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Tag: match-fixing

  • Alleged SEA Games Match-Fixer Remanded After Denied Bail

    Alleged SEA Games Match-Fixer Remanded After Denied Bail

    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.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • SEA Games Football Match-Fixing: Four Accused Face Additional Charges

    SEA Games Football Match-Fixing: Four Accused Face Additional Charges

    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.

     

    Source: www.channlenewsasia.com

  • Ex-Malaysian Footballer Pleads Guilty On Charges Of Conspiracy To Fix An MSL Match Involving Lions XII

    Ex-Malaysian Footballer Pleads Guilty On Charges Of Conspiracy To Fix An MSL Match Involving Lions XII

    A former Malaysian national footballer who absconded about three years ago after being charged with conspiracy to fix a Malaysia Super League (MSL) soccer game pleaded guilty on Monday.

    Thanasegar S. Sinnaiah, 40, was nabbed again last August. The businessman, who faced eight charges, admitted to four in a district court.

    He schemed with Singaporean Selvarajan Letchuman to give a bribe of not more than RM15,000 (S$5,590) to Football Association of Malaysia part-time referee Shokri Nor, 50, to ensure that the Lions XII beat Sarawak FA in a match to be played in Singapore on May 22, 2012.

    That day, Selvarajan, 52, placed six bets with Singapore Pools with part of the earnings to be used as a bribe to be paid to Shokri, but the offence was not committed.

    Thanasegar also conspired with Selvarajan and Shokri to conceal that arrangements had been made to “fix” the outcome of the match, in a bid to induce Singapore Pools to hand over payouts of $10,500 and $5,000 to Selvarajan. These were for bets he placed with an outlet near Rangoon Road and at Rowell Road respectively.

    A district court heard that Thanasegar received a phone call in Kedah from Selvarajan on May 18 in 2012.

    Selvarajan asked if he had any tips for the football match between Lions XII and Sarawak FA in the MSL to be played in Singapore on May 22. Thanasegar informed Selvarajan that Shokri, then a policeman, was the referee for the match.

    Selvarajan travelled to Penang and met the pair in a hotel where the alleged conspiracy to fix the match was hatched.

    But all three were arrested before the football match kicked off.

    While Thanasegar was out on $50,000 bail, he left Singapore illegally by hiding in the boot of a car. He thus committed an offence of failing to present his passport to an immigration officer for examination sometime in July that year.

    Thanasegar’s case has been adjourned to Feb 17.

    Selvarajan’s case is pending while police are still looking for Shokri, who had also absconded.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com