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    Singaporean charged over alleged bribes to fix PBA, Thai league matches

    Businessman handed 14 graft charges in Singapore court
    Apr 22, 2023
    ian sangalang, leo avenido, almond vosotros

    A SINGAPOREAN businessman faces 14 graft charges for allegedly offering millions of pesos in bribes to fix basketball matches in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Thai league five years ago, court documents showed.

    According to a report by Singapore's The Straits Times on Friday, Koa Wei Quan, a 32-year old who used to own a transportation firm, stands accused of trying to influence the results of games in the PBA and the Thai league from April to July in 2018.

    Documents submitted in court alleged Koa offered Magnolia big man Ian Sangalang US$5,000 to arrange for the Hotshots to lose to sister team San Miguel by nine or more points in Game 5 of the 2018 Philippine Cup Finals on April 6.

    READ: SMB player Daniel de Guzman denies involvement in botched game-fixing deal

    The Singaporean businessman, prosecutors alleged, worked with two others - Leonidez Zapata Avenido and Sergei Bien Orillo.

    Koa worked with the same pair 16 days later, court documents showed, to offer unknown players from Blackwater P525,000 in bribes to arrange for a four-point win or less by the Bossing or to lose their match against Columbian (now Terrafirma).

    Documents submitted to the court didn't mention if the bribes were accepted.

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      On April 15, 2018, the three, with Koa working from Singapore, also offered unknown Blackwater players P1.5 million for a win over Phoenix by an unspecified margin.

      Koa's case has been adjourned to May 18, the Straits Times said. if convicted, the businessman faces a jail term of up to five years and a fine.

      According to the report, Koa also tried to fix matches in the Thai league, offering bribes to Filipino player Almond Pineda Vosotros and import Jalen Robinson.

      SEE ALSO
      SEE ALSO

      In at least three instances, Koa, working with a certain Poh Wei Hao, offered bribes ranging from US$1,000 to US$1,500 to fix the outcome of Thai General Equipment games in the Thai league.

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      These matches took place from June to July, 2018, prosecutors said.

      The court documents did not say if the bribes were accepted or not.

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