Singapore: A 40-year-old Indian-origin man, who was a former Malaysian national footballer, was on Thursday sentenced to 24 months in jail by a Singaporean court for corruption and immigration offences after he fixed football matches and bribed a referee.
Thana Segar S Sinnaiah had earlier pleaded guilty to four charges.
These include one count of corruptly giving gratification of about 5,600 Singapore dollars to referee Shokri Bin Nor to fix the Malaysian Super League match held on May 22, 2012 between Singapore's LionsXII team and the state team of Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.
He also pleaded guilty to two counts of abetment by conspiracy to cheat the betting and lottery operator Singapore Pools, and for one count of failure to present his passport when leaving Singapore, Channel News Asia reported.
Four other charges of abetment by conspiracy to cheat Singapore Pools were taken into consideration for the sentencing, according to Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
Thana was first charged on May 24, 2012, with one count of engaging with the referee, in a conspiracy to corruptly agree to receive gratification to fix the Malaysian Super League match on May 22.
While out on bail, Thana failed to turn up for the pre- trial conference scheduled for August 7, 2012.
He was later apprehended in August, 2014 with the assistance of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the CPIB said.
"The popularity of football and the lucrative business of football betting have made the matches susceptible to illegal practices including match-fixing. These practices must be eliminated to protect the integrity of the sport and to keep the local sports scene clean," the agency said.
"Singapore has always adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption, and match-fixing of any form is not condoned in Singapore," said the CPIB.
The agency said that it investigates into match-fixing through bribery cases and will not hesitate to take action against any parties involved if they had given or received bribes to fix a match.
