TEMPO.CO, Singapore - At the same time as soccer's world leaders were meeting in Switzerland vowing to clean up the game following the latest corruption cases, another scandal emerged, this time involving match-fixing in Asia.
Singaporean authorities announced on Friday, at the exact same time that the FIFA Congress was taking place in Zurich, that they had arrested an alleged match-fixer as well as several co-conspirators following an investigation into upcoming soccer matches at the Southeast Asian Games.
Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) did not identify any of the people who were arrested but said members of at least one visiting international team were helping officials in relation to the probe.
"The authorities added that some members from the Timor-Leste SEA Games football team are also assisting them in investigations," the CPIB said in a statement.
The CPIB said the arrests were made after they began monitoring match-fixing activities relating to football matches at the 28th SEA Games, which kicked off in Singapore on Friday.
"Acting swiftly on information received, CPIB mounted an operation that spanned from the late hours of the 28th to the early hours of the 29th of May that resulted in the arrests of a Singaporean alleged match-fixer and several co-conspirators of different nationalities," CPIB said.
East Timor were due to play Malaysia in their opening match on Saturday.
SEA Games organisers said the match would still go ahead after officials met with various parties, including the powerful Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
"We met with the Timor Leste National Olympic Committee (NOC) officials to confer on the continuing participation of their football team," the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) said.
"In consultation with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), SEAGF and SINGSOC (Singapore Southeast Asian Games Organising Committee) have accepted their decision to proceed."
Match-fixing in soccer matches has been rife in parts of Asia for years. A large bulk of the 47 members in the AFC have been hit with match-fixing scandals in recent years, with fixers targeting low-paid players in various leagues across the region.
During the 2010 World Cup, links between organised crime and illegal soccer betting in Asia came to the fore when Interpol coordinated an operation that led to the arrests of 5,000 people and the seizure of nearly $10 million.
"Singapore has always adopted a zero tolerance approach towards corruption, and match-fixing of any form is not condoned in Singapore," the CPIB said.
"The CPIB will not hesitate to take action against any parties involved, if they have given, received, or offered bribes to fix a match."
REUTERS
