Top M'sian ref charged with match-fixing in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Top Malaysian referee Shokri Nor, 47, and former Kedah football player S.Thanasegar, 38, were charged at a Subsidiary Court here on Thursday with alleged involvement in fixing a match between Lions XII and Sarawak on May 22 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Under the amended charge, Thanasegar is alleged to have aided Shokri to meet with L. Selvarajan, 49, so that Shokri could receive a RM15,000 bribe to fix the result of the match.

Thanasegar was charged under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act read together with Section 29(a) of the same act and Section 108B of the Penal Code.

Shokri was charged with corruptly obtaining the bribe from Selvarajan to fix the match under Section 6(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Both men could face a jail term of not more than five years and a fine not exceeding S$100,000, or both, if convicted.

Both were initially charged with accepting RM15,000 each as an inducement to fix the Lions XII vs Sarawak.

Shokri, who refereed last year's Malaysia Cup final between Negri Sembilan and Terengganu, is alleged to have conspired with Thanasegar in a hotel room in Penang on May 19 to fix the match. Although the plot was hatched in Penang, it was left to the Singapore authorities to nail the suspects.

Shokri was originally scheduled to officiate the match but was replaced at the eleventh hour by Mohd Tarmizi after officials were informed of the possibility of the match being compromised.

Shokri and Thanasegar were then arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigations Bureau (CPIB).

Shokri, a tourist policeman from Penang had officiated matches in the M-League for the last 10 years while Thanasegar was one of the scores of players banned or banished after the nationwide bribery scandal in 1994-95 that rocked Malaysian football.