SINGAPORE: A court has denied an application by alleged matchfixer Eric Ding to leave Singapore.
Ding is accused of bribing three Lebanese match officials with prostitutes in return for fixing a match in Singapore in April.
Ding had applied to travel to Bangkok, Thailand to enrol his four-year-old daughter in an international school.
Ding’s defence said his partner, an unnamed Thai woman, did not speak English and was unable to do so herself.
The defence highlighted that Ding was not a flight risk, as he had faithfully followed reporting obligations imposed by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
It said Ding would not have applied to leave the country if it were “not critical or urgent to do so”.
Prosecutors rebutted that Ding’s partner should be able to enrol their daughter in school herself, as administrators of international schools in Bangkok should be able to speak Thai.
It would also not be difficult to arrange help from another person other than Ding who could speak English.
Prosecutors argued that Ding was a flight risk.
They said he has about S$400,000 in cash after selling his stake in a nightclub in Singapore in May.
Prosecutors said this was highly suspicious, and they “utterly believed” that Ding plans to abscond.
It also emerged that two business partners from the nightclub were also being investigated by CPIB, although the reasons were not stated.
But they left for Thailand during investigations and have not returned.
They said that Ding was “well-resourced” and would have little problem going on the run.
They also highlighted other assets of his, including cars such as an Aston Martin V8 Vantage worth more than S$550,000 and a terrace house.
These assets have been frozen.
Prosecutors suggested that Ding now had “a clear sense that evidence is stacked against him”, and had decided to abscond.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong said he had considered factors of urgency and necessity, and the court was not satisfied with the reasons laid out by Ding’s defence.
The trial has been adjourned to an unspecified date.
Eric Ding not allowed to leave Singapore
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