SINGAPORE: Three former coaches from the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF) were handed forgery charges on Thursday (March 12) after they allegedly falsified the race results of athletes at an overseas fin swimming event.
As a result, six SUF athletes were selected to participate in the 2023 SEA Games fin swimming events held in Cambodia.
These six athletes would not have been selected had it not been for the falsified results, said the police in an earlier statement.
On March 12, Muhammad Faiz Suhaimi, 33, and Ho Ho Huat, 56, were each charged with three counts of engaging in a conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating.
Gary Lee Quan Hua, 35, was handed two charges for similar offences.
Fin swimming is a sport in which an athlete swims on the water’s surface or underwater while wearing fins on his or her feet.
Court documents stated that the three Singaporean men are accused of working together to make a false record on or before Jan 18, 2023.
On Jan 18 that year, Faiz allegedly made a false electronic record named “1st Malaysia fin swimming championship” containing falsified results of several events at the 1st Malaysia Fin Swimming Championship 2023.
The trio allegedly committed a similar offence on or before Feb 1, 2023.
On Feb 1 that year, Faiz allegedly entered falsified results into a portal, intending to cause the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) to believe that the electronic records reflected the results at the same sporting event.
Faiz and Ho are also accused of working together to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating on or before Feb 5, 2023.
This time, Ho allegedly altered the result sheet of the 1st Malaysia Fin Swimming Championship 2023 by inserting falsified results.
According to the police statement, officers received a report on March 18, 2025, from the SNOC regarding the suspected submission of falsified fin swimming race timing results by the SUF.
A police spokesperson said: “The three men had conspired to submit a document containing these falsified results to the SNOC as an appeal submission, resulting in six SUF athletes being selected to participate in the (2023 SEA Games).”
The trio’s cases have been adjourned to April 23.
For each charge of being part of a conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
In a joint statement on March 11, SNOC and national sports agency Sport Singapore said they do not condone any actions that undermine the integrity of the selection process for major games.
In March 2025, the two organisations said in a joint statement that the SUF had submitted falsified results for the women’s 4x200m relay surface event for the 2023 SEA Games.
This came after a committee of inquiry was convened by the two organisations on July 1, 2024, to investigate allegations that the SUF had submitted falsified results for the relay team.
In 2023, Singapore sent 11 fin swimmers to the Cambodia Games, including the relay team. They finished last out of four in the women’s 4x200m surface relay final. - The Straits Times/ANN
