Eight suspected bookies held over world youth matches<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian police have arrested eight
\nsuspected bookies during the world youth football championship
\nmatches here, reports said yesterday.<\/p>\n
A special police task force has been deployed during the
\nthree-week tournament to counter bookmaking, which is illegal but
\nwidespread in Malaysia. Match fixing in local games is a common
\noccurrence.<\/p>\n
Police believe they crippled three illegal football bookmaking
\nsyndicates raking in six million ringgit (US$2.4 million) a match
\nwith the arrest of the eight in the northern state of Penang.<\/p>\n
They also seized five cellular phones, four telephones,
\nnewspaper cuttings of football schedules, 97 slips of football
\nmatch results and a Copa America football schedule, The Star
\nnewspaper reported here.<\/p>\n
Penang-state criminal investigation department's deputy police
\nchief Osman Abu Bakar said the syndicates each accepted about two
\nmillion ringgit bets a match for the Youth World Cup and Copa
\nAmerica 1997 championships.<\/p>\n
Police are also investigating whether the suspects, aged
\nbetween 24 and 65, were involved in other football matches.<\/p>\n
Osman said the syndicates were believed to be inter-linked and
\nhad networks in the southern state of Johor, northern state of
\nPerak, Kedah and in Sarawak on Borneo island and in Thailand.
\nNo charges of match-fixing have been laid.<\/p>\n
Asian Football Confederation Secretary-General Peter Velappan
\nexpressed satisfaction over the high level of vigilance on the
\npart of the Malaysian police.<\/p>\n
\"We congratulate the police on their good work,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Sabah, police arrested two suspected bookies who
\nwere taking bets for the youth football championships semifinals.<\/p>\n
Sabah deputy criminal investigation chief Lau Hong Soon said
\nthe suspects, aged 41 and 45, were picked up at their premises by
\na team of police officers.<\/p>\n
The two suspects were being detained for questioning, police
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The suspects were believed to have taken bets for Wednesday's
\nYouth World Cup semifinal matches between Argentina and Ireland
\nplayed in Sarawak and between Ghana played in Shah Alam.<\/p>\n
They were believed to have taken bets for youth football
\nchampionships matches although they are not suspected to be
\ninvolved in match-fixing.<\/p>\n
Malaysian police have so far arrested 15 people alleged for
\nbookmaking.<\/p>\n
The under-20 tournament, which began June 16, ends July 5.<\/p>\n
Two years ago more than 100 footballers and officials were
\nbanned by football's world governing body FIFA for being involved
\nin one of the biggest match-rigging scandals in the sport's
\nhistory.<\/p>\n
Malaysian bookmakers also attempted to fix matches in last
\nyear's Tiger Cup in Singapore.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/eight-suspected-bookies-held-over-world-youth-matches-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}