Malaysia charges Singaporean with match-fixing

Posted on June 16, 2011 by SoccerPunter

Malaysia charged a Singaporean Wednesday with match-fixing, the second such case in connection with a national football tournament.

Malaysia’s anti-graft body said in a statement that bookie R.K. Rajendran was charged with bribery totalling more than 24,000 ringgit (US$8,000) to fix two matches last year.

Rajendran pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail and a fine.

In the first case, the 51-year-old is accused of paying six players on the Terengganu state team 200 ringgit each in March last year to fix their game against Selangor state in the President’s Cup.

He is also accused of bribing five Terengganu players with up to 7,000 ringgit in May last year to fix their match against Negeri Sembilan.

The President’s Cup is a competition for under-20 players. Malaysian sports officials say they are committed to rooting out corruption.

Earlier this month, another Malaysian court charged Negeri Sembilan coach Yusarman Yusof with match fixing.

Yusarman pleaded not guilty to offering bribes of some 2,000 ringgit to 11 of his players to fix a President’s Cup match in April in the northern state of Penang.