A
Singaporean and several foreigners have been arrested on suspicion of trying to
fix football matches at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the city-state's
anti-corruption agency said Friday.
The
36-sport biennial Southeast Asian Games was set to kick off informally late
Friday with group stage football ties ahead of the opening ceremony on June 5
at the National Stadium of Singapore.
In
a statement, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said it had been
"proactively monitoring football match-fixing activities" and acted
on information it received to arrest "a Singaporean alleged match-fixer
and several co-conspirators of different nationalities."
"Some
members from the Timor Leste SEA Games football team are also assisting the
Bureau in its investigations," the CPIB said.
The
agency did not provide further details about the suspects arrested or those
being investigated.
It
said the suspects were being probed under the city-state's tough Prevention of
Corruption Act.
The
swoop follows a string of match-fixing scandals which have tarnished the
wealthy, gambling-mad island's reputation for clean government and low crime.
Singaporean
businessman Eric Ding is currently serving a five-year jail sentence for
providing prostitutes to Lebanese football referees in a bid to influence
international matches in April 2013.
In
September 2013, police detained 14 people believed to be members of a global
match-fixing syndicate, including the suspected mastermind Dan Tan.
Tan,
also known as Tan Seet Eng, is currently being held under a law that allows for
indefinite detention, which is typically used against key gangsters.
Experts
have said that easy international transport, a passport accepted around the
world and fluency in English and Mandarin have helped Singaporean fixers spread
their influence with the support of external investors, most believed to be
from China.
The
SEA Games, which Singapore is hosting for the first time since 1993, involve
all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam -- plus East Timor which first participated in the Games
in 2003 and is also known as Timor Leste.
abs.cbsnews
- Agence France-Presse
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