A Singaporean man on trial for match fixing has had assets worth S$550,000 unfrozen by the High Court of Singapore after it was ruled there was no justification to continue seizure.
Rajendar Prasad Rai was charged in 2015 for allegedly offering bribes to football players from the Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) football team to fix the outcome of a StarHub League Cup match against Balestier Khalsa FC. Balestier Khalsa won the match, played in July 2014, 2-0.
Prosecutors received an extension on the seizure of Mr Rai’s funds last November through to 30 June 2017, but under the Criminal Procedure Code they must justify the ongoing seizure in court after 12 months.
According to the Straits Times, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said the prosecution’s evidence was “far short” of what was required.
“Such a draconian action must be shown to be justifiable,” he said, denying their attempts to introduce new evidence. “It would not be just to enable the prosecution to attempt to remedy the flawed proceedings in this way.”
Mr Rai’s match fixing trial is ongoing.
