IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
Lebanese referee says he was not asked to rig matches
SINGAPORE: The match-fixing case involving Singaporean businessman Eric Ding Si Yang continued at the Subordinate Courts on Tuesday.
The defence counsel began by cross-examining prosecution witness, referee Ali Sabbagh, who is serving a six-month jail sentence.
During cross-examination, Sabbagh admitted Ding had never offered to procure him sexual services in exchange for future match-fixing.
Ding is alleged to have bribed the Lebanese match official and his two assistants by offering sexual gratification from prostitutes.
The hearing was adjourned to Wednesday, after Ding's lawyer requested for a CCTV recording of Sabbagh and his two assistants Ali Eid and Abdullah Taleb talking to three women at the Amara Hotel in April this year.
Day 3 of match-fixing trial puts focus on Lebanese referee, hostess
SINGAPORE: The match fixing trial involving Singaporean businessman Eric Ding continued on Wednesday.
The trial began with Ding's lawyer, Mr Hamidul Haq, cross examining prosecution witness, Ali Sabbagh.
Mr Haq questioned the Lebanese match official on his acquaintance with Thai referee, Thanum Borikut.
The two had met last November with Thanum wanting Sabbagh to fix an ASEAN Football Federation Under-19 match between Malaysia and Myanmar.
Sabbagh has denied that match fixing allegation.
Later in the afternoon, the prosecution called on the part-time hostess who had sex with Sabbagh at the Amara Hotel in April.
The woman confirmed that Sabbagh did not pay for her services but when questioned by the defence counsel, she could not identify Ding as the procurer. - CNA/fa
Hostesses in match-fixing case said Lebanese football officials did not pay for sex
Published on Jul 18, 2013
Hostesses Lisa (left) and Chanel, who had entertained the linesmen involved in a football match-fixing case, testified on Thursday, July 18, 2013, that the men did not pay them for the sexual services. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Khushwant Singh
The two hostesses, who had "entertained" the linesmen involved in a football match-fixing case, testified on Thursday that the men did not pay them for the sexual services.
The two women - whose working names are Lisa and Chanel - were giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of Eric Ding Si Yang. The 31-year-old businessman is accused of bribing three Lebanese soccer officials by arranging for them to receive free sexual favours. The Singaporean is alleged to have arranged the free sexual favours for the officials just hours before they were due to officiate an Asian Football Confederation Cup match between Singapore's Tampines Rovers and India's East Bengal.
Lisa, 28, and Chanel, 32, said that a mamasan called Christine drove them, and another hostess by the name of Ann, to Amara Hotel in Tanjong Pagar. She had also handed them condoms and told them twice not to seek payment from the guests.
The three women had initially thought they would be going out to party with the men until they landed in the hotel rooms and had to provide the men with sexual services. They were detained by the authorities while leaving the hotel. Upon their release, they learnt that the person who booked them had not paid up and Christine forked out $450 of her own money to pay each of them. The trio also said that they did not know Ding or who had booked them.
Match-fixing trial: Deported Lebanese linesmen say 'no' to returning to testify
Published on Aug 27, 2013
Eric Ding Si Yang (left) and his Lawyer Hamidul Haq arrive at the court on Aug 27, 2013. The match-fixing trial of Ding resumed on Tuesday with a twist - two key prosecution witnesses are now not showing up. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
By Walter Sim
The match-fixing trial of businessman Eric Ding Si Yang, 31, resumed on Tuesday with two key prosecution witnesses, who were expected to testify, now not showing up.
Ding is accused of bribing three Lebanese Fifa officials with free sexual favours from prostitutes, in return for fixing a match.
Fifa linesmen Abdallah Taleb, 37, and Ali Eid, 33, had been deported on June 10 after serving jail terms of three months each. They were expected to return to Singapore to testify against Ding.
"Each of them say they have made clear and detailed statements in their involvement with Ding Si Yang, and have nothing to add to the statement which can assist the prosecution in the trial," said Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Jeffrey Tan, who took the stand in an ancillary hearing to determine the admissibility of their statements.
Linesmen's statements allowed as evidence in match-fixing trial
SINGAPORE: The match-fixing trial involving Singapore businessman Eric Ding Si Yang continued on Thursday.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong said he would allow the four statements given by two deported Lebanese linesmen to be admitted as court evidence.
The two match officials, Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb, were supposed to testify in court, but have refused to return to Singapore to take the witness stand.
They had been found guilty of match-fixing and were deported from Singapore after serving their sentence.
However, the judge also gave the caveat that the decision was not final, and may be reversed after full evidence is heard.
He noted that practicable attempts had been made by Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Jeffrey Tan to bring the two officials back to Singapore.
Businessman Eric Ding, 31, who is involved in a sex-for-match-fixing trial.
Foo Jie Ying
The New Paper
Sunday, Sep 01, 2013
SINGAPORE - He was being watched very closely hours before his arrest.
Armed with his photograph, the team of 12 graft busters began monitoring him in his residence from the evening of April 2.
The right moment finally came at about 2am on April 3, and businessman Eric Ding Si Yang, 31, was nabbed after the officers trailed him as he drove.
Snippets of the "surveillance operation" were revealed during the sex-formatch- fixing trial Thursday, following a two-day ancillary hearing.
Ding is on trial for allegedly bribing three Lebanese match officials with "girls" who turned up at midnight, just hours before the trio were due to officiate an Asian Football Confederation match.
Entourage
During cross-examination, Ding's lawyer Thong Chee Kun questioned the need for an entourage to arrest a single man.
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Tan Keng Ghee, who was on the witness stand, replied: "The subject was driving, so this is part of the surveillance job."
The mission to nab Ding and the Lebanese trio started with a nugget of information received by CPIB's deputy director of intelligence, Mr Ang Seow Lian, Mr Tan told the court.
This was before the three KTV hostesses visited the Lebanese officials at Amara Hotel and had sex with them.
After arresting Ding, the CPIB officers found seven mobile phones on him, which piqued Mr Tan's curiosity.
When asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Grace Lim about the phones, Mr Tan said: "I asked (Ding) why he was carrying so many handphones. He told me he needed the handphone to contact his girls."
Mr Thong disputed this, asking: "Did you record this conversation that you had with him anywhere?"
The CPIB officer said he did not and added: "I don't think it was my duty to interview him."
Mr Thong then said that Ding had "needed different phones for different purposes" and to call different people.
To which Mr Tan replied: "That is not true, Your Honour."
Ding was not the only subject of the CPIB surveillance operation.
The three Lebanese - Mr Ali Sabbagh, 34; Mr Abdallah Taleb, 37; and Mr Ali Eid, 33 - were monitored from the moment they set foot in Singapore on April 1 to the time they went to Amara Hotel, where they stayed.
Mr Tan had been instructed to "confirm the arrival of the three referees".
The surveillance continued the next day, when the trio allegedly met Ding at the Subway restaurant next to the hotel.
It had been revealed earlier in the trial that they had met to discuss the officials' preference for the women they were promised.
The meeting, however, did not last long. They left abruptly after they suspected they were being photographed.
This incident was brought up in court again Thursday when Mr Thong asked the CPIB officer: "Will I be correct to say that one of the CPIB officers took a photo of the referees as well as Mr Ding at Subway restaurant using a mobile phone?"
Mr Tan replied: "I cannot confirm on that because my officers have denied taking photographs."
The trial continues on Monday, with more CPIB officers expected to take the stand.
If convicted, Ding can be fined up to $100,000, or jailed up to five years, or both.
Judge: Attempts to contact prosecution witnesses 'reasonable'
The defence on Thursday called an investigating officer's attempts to contact two Lebanese football officials "pitiable" and "feeble at best".
But District Judge Toh Yung Cheong found that Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Jeffrey Tan's attempts to contact Mr Abdallah Taleb, 37, and Mr Ali Eid, 33, were "reasonable". He then admitted their written statements as evidence.
It was revealed in court earlier that Mr Tan had repeatedly called and e-mailed the Lebanese officials on the first two days of July. But Ding's lawyer, Mr Thong Chee Kun, said his efforts were "pitiable" and "feeble at best".
Judge Toh pointed out that Mr Tan had spoken to Mr Eid's wife, who informed him that her husband would not be willing to testify.
Believe
He said he had "every reason to believe" that Mr Eid was present during Mr Tan's phone conversation with the wife.
As for Mr Taleb, the district judge said that the fact that someone had told Mr Tan to call back at a later time showed that the line was working.
The subsequent calls that were ignored by Mr Taleb, as well as the invalid e-mail address, proved that he was "deliberately avoiding CPIB's attempts to contact him", Judge Toh said.
The defence also said that the e-mail reply from Mr Imad Nasr, the Lebanon Vice Consul in Singapore, to Mr Tan confirming the officials' refusal to testify - as informed by the Lebanese Football Association - had an "element of hearsay".
Judge Toh said the issue did not lie in whether the content was true, but in that Mr Tan had made the effort.
Before he made his ruling, he reminded law enforcement agencies to "agree on a common standard operative procedure" to "ensure consistency" when securing the attendance of prosecution witnesses.
Eric Ding (left) and his lawyer Hamidul Haq leaving the court yesterday. Ding is accused of match-fixing by bribing officials with prostitutes.
Walter Sim
The Straits Times
Sunday, Sep 01, 2013
SINGAPORE - The businessman accused of match-fixing by bribing officials with prostitutes had seven mobile phones on him when he was arrested.
Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Tan Keng Ghee said Eric Ding Si Yang told him at the time the phones were used to "contact his girls", without elaborating on who the girls were. Mr Tan was testifying on Thursday about the events leading to Ding's arrest early on April 3.
He disagreed with defence counsel Thong Chee Kun, who had suggested that what Ding actually said was that he "needed different phones for different purposes, and for different people to call him".
Ding, 31, faces three counts of bribing three Fifa-accredited Lebanese officials - referee Ali Sabbagh, 34, and linesmen Ali Eid, 33, and Abdallah Taleb, 37 - to induce them into fixing a future football match.
In June, a court heard that Ding first made contact in Lebanon last year, and allegedly wooed them with promises of cash and sex.
All three pleaded guilty to accepting Ding's bribes and have been deported back to Lebanon after serving their jail sentences.
Mr Tan revealed on Thursday that the officials were under covert CPIB surveillance from the moment they landed in Singapore on April 1, and were being watched when they met Ding at a Subway restaurant near Amara Hotel the next day.
The court also heard in June that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the officials' preference for the girls Ding had promised. But the meeting did not last very long as they left abruptly, suspecting that they were being secretly photographed.
Mr Tan said on Thursday that his officers "denied taking any photographs". He said that "after a few seconds when the parties met up, they walked away", so he suspected they had been alerted to the officers' presence in one way or another.
Earlier on Thursday, District Judge Toh Yung Cheong ruled that four statements given by the linesmen can be admitted as court evidence - even without their testimony.
But the judge included the caveat that the decision may be reversed, or given the appropriate weight after hearing the full evidence.
Normally, statements are not admitted without witness testimony.
Sabbagh had testified against Ding last month before being repatriated.
The district judge noted that "reasonable efforts" had been made by a CPIB investigating officer and that it was "no longer reasonably practicable" to secure the linesmen's attendance in court.
The steps taken, the judge said, included multiple phone calls and e-mail, and enlisting the help of Mr Imad Nasr, vice-consul of the Lebanese consulate here.
Matchfixing trial: Ding disputes forensic evidence that he had seven email accounts
Published on Sep 02, 2013
Singaporean businessman Eric Ding Si Yang (right) arrives with his lawyer for a trial at the Subordinate courts in Singapore on Monday, Sept 2, 2013. One of seven phones seized from alleged matchfixer Ding came under scrutiny on Monday, as a forensics expert provided a breakdown of its contents. -- PHOTO: AFP
By Walter Sim
One of seven phones seized from alleged matchfixer Eric Ding Si Yang came under scrutiny on Monday, as a forensics expert provided a breakdown of its contents.
The black iPhone with a blue cover contained records of six Gmail accounts and one Yahoo e-mail account being accessed via their respective mobile apps, testified Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau special investigator Chng Tze Wei.
But the apps were not found in the phone - which was produced in court - prompting defence counsel Thong Chee Kun to say: "I am instructed that the user of the phone had no such specific apps at any time."
Mr Chng agreed that there were no such apps "from the logical view". "But from the forensic point of view, using forensic software, we can analyse applications that have been deleted," he added.
SINGAPORE: The match-fixing trial involving Singaporean businessman Eric Ding Si Yang will resume on October 31 after the second tranche of the hearing ended on Tuesday.
Ding is alleged to have bribed three Lebanese match officials by offering them sexual gratification from prostitutes in exchange for rigging a football match.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sim Lai Hua from the Technology Crime Forensic Branch took the stand on Tuesday.
DSP Sim testified that he was tasked to retrieve encrypted emails from a Sony Vaio laptop.
The emails retrieved were identical to the ones Ding had purportedly sent to Lebanese referee Ali Sabbagh, with instructions on how to fix a match. - CNA/gn
Updated: 10/31/2013 19:22 | By Channel NewsAsia
Eric Ding linked to suspected match-fixing kingpin Dan Tan in trial
SINGAPORE: The trial of alleged matchfixer Eric Ding resumed on Thursday, as state prosecutors sought to link him with suspected match-fixing mastermind Dan Tan.
Ding is accused of bribing three Lebanese match officials scheduled to take charge of a football game in Singapore in April.
Three witnesses took the stand on Thursday.
Two of them were Ding's ex-colleagues at The New Paper (TNP) -- editor Dominic Nathan, and a former sub-editor at the newspaper, Stanley Ho.
Ding had met Mr Ho when they were both working for the TODAY newspaper in 2003.
Ding went on become a freelance tipster at TNP, where he was reacquainted with Mr Ho, who is now an executive sub-editor with The Straits Times.
Mr Ho said Ding had given him tip-offs on match-fixing stories, including the arrest of convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal in Finland.
Raj had earlier accused Dan Tan of being a ringleader of a Singapore match-fixing syndicate, which was reported by TNP.
Ding had said TNP's coverage was "one-sided" and then volunteered an "associate" of Tan's to provide more information to Mr Ho.
But Mr Ho said it had been suggested that the "associate" was actually Ding himself, using the moniker "James Zen" in email correspondence.
Ding's defence lawyers described him as an aspiring investigative journalist who had won awards for several articles he had written before.
Ding had won awards for articles on match-fixing that he had written as an intern at TODAY, and as a writer at a weekly football magazine.
Ding had also suggested to Mr Ho that he may write a book about match-fixing.
He said the content would be "explosive", given how much he knew about the topic.
It also emerged in court that Mr Ho and Ding were close personal friends, who exchanged emails on match-fixing issues frequently.
Ding last spoke to Mr Ho last month to tell him that Tan was among 14 arrested for alleged match-fixing that month.
Updated: 11/01/2013 16:21 | By Channel NewsAsia Linesmen in match-fixing case believed to give contradictory statements
SINGAPORE: Defence lawyers for alleged football match-fixer Eric Ding Si Yang on Friday produced statements from two deported Lebanese linesmen that are believed to contradict the initial ones they made to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
The match officials -- Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb -- had pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in the form of sex with a prostitute in return for rigging a match and were jailed.
Both refused to return to Singapore to be witnesses at Ding's trial.
The district judge then allowed their statements to the CPIB to be admitted as court evidence.
On Friday, Ding’s lawyers used the new statements obtained on October 29 from a Lebanese lawyer acting for the two men, to cross-examine CPIB investigator Chan Jian Yun, who had recorded Abdallah Taleb's initial statement following his arrest.
Abdallah maintained his innocence in his later statement.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Alan Loh had initially objected to both the admissibility of the statements as well as to using them to cross-examine witnesses.
He pointed out that there had been no independent verification of who the lawyer acting for the men was, and that the translations of the statements had not been verified.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong later allowed the defence to put their case to the prosecution witnesses.
Ding's lawyers sought to show that Abdallah's initial statement was "inaccurate and unreliable".
They suggested that some nuances may have been lost in translation due to the use of an interpreter, and that the way the statement was recorded had gone against CPIB's practices.
For example, Mr Chan recorded the time the recording of the statement ended as the time he stopped typing, even though there was still one question that had not been answered.
He also printed the statement out before he had completed typing the last question and later filled in the answer by hand.
Mr Chan said he had not wanted to detain Abdallah longer than necessary, and maintained that the statement was accurate as it had been given to Abdallah to check, and amendments had been made.
The trial continues with Mr Chan back on the stand on Monday. - CNA/nd
Eric Ding's lawyers point out inconsistencies in linesmen's statements
SINGAPORE: Defence lawyers of alleged match-fixer Eric Ding sought to point out inconsistencies in the statements given by two deported Lebanese linesmen to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), and those which they made to their lawyer on returning home.
The match officials -- Ali Eid and Abdallah Taleb -- had pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in the form of sex with a prostitute in return for rigging a match and were jailed.
In the new statements issued through their Lebanese lawyer, both men have maintained their innocence.
Two officers who recorded the men's initial statements took the stand on Monday, and gave evidence about the linesmen's state of mind when their statements were recorded by CPIB.
CPIB investigator Chan Jian Yun said Abdallah had indicated he was fine to give a statement, and that he hoped to come back to Singapore again.
Ding's lawyers said this did not tally with Abdallah's latest statement, in which he said he would not come back to Singapore and that his arrest had caused him a "nervous breakdown".
In his new statement, Abdallah wrote that the investigation officer told him he had committed a crime against Singapore law, something which caused him a "nervous breakdown" especially since it was the first time he had been arrested.
He also said: "I'm still fearing my return and arrest again so I suggested to write this letter without going to the Singaporean territories."
Ding's lawyers suggested that Abdallah had been put under pressure when recording his initial statement.
Similarly, CPIB investigator Png Chen Chen was also asked about Ali Eid's state of mind at the time his statement was recorded.
She said he had seemed fine at the time she recorded his statement, but the court heard that he had felt unwell and complained of numbness in his upper body only a few hours before, and was rushed to hospital and warded the day after the statement was taken.
Earlier, he had also asked to take a painkiller which was among the oral medication found in his waistpouch for an old injury which he did not elaborate on.
Ding's lawyers suggested this could have led to him giving an inaccurate and unreliable statement.
They also questioned why he had not been given professional medical attention given his medical history.
This came after Ms Png gave evidence that following Ali's complaints of feeling unwell, he was walking very slowly, and needed Ms Png and the interpreter to massage his upper body so as to relieve the numbness.
Ali had also asked if there was a blood pressure machine on the CPIB premises.
Ms Png said there was none and if necessary, she would have him taken to hospital.
Ali then asked for a cup of sugar water, which he said was what he consumed at home when in such a situation.
In cross-examining Ms Png, Ding's lawyers also suggested that her superiors had directed her to include information in the statement -- such as the fact that Ali had received gratification in the form of sex in exchange for fixing a match, and that the gratification was offered by Ding.
Ms Png denied this, noting that she had been instructed to clarify some of this information with Ali, and that whatever was in the statement was what he had told her.
Eric Ding's lawyers take aim at CPIB statement recording process
SINGAPORE: Defence lawyers of alleged match-fixer Eric Ding sought to raise doubts about the statement recording process of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in the Subordinate Courts on Tuesday.
Ding, 31, is accused of offering three Lebanese football match officials sex from prostitutes, in exchange for rigging an Asian Confederations Cup game in April.
The three officials were found guilty earlier this year of accepting the bribe.
Two linesmen, Mr Abdallah Taleb and Mr Ali Eid, have been released from jail, and are now back in Lebanon.
The referee, Ali Sabbagh, was given a six-month jail sentence in June this year.
In court on Tuesday, the defence spent time questioning prosecution witness Daryl Ng.
Mr Ng is the CPIB officer who recorded further statements from Mr Abdallah and Mr Ali, before they were deported after serving their sentences.
Defence lawyer Yusfiyanto Yatiman pointed out that Mr Ng had allowed another officer, Frankie Lee, to be present while he recorded the additional statements in June.
He said that was highly irregular.
In response, Mr Ng said Mr Lee was there "in case anything happened", such as if the linesmen became violent.
Mr Ng also clarified that Mr Lee did not take part in the statement recording process.
The defence lawyer also said that Mr Ng had failed to inform both linesmen that the second set of statements being taken would be used in Ding's prosecution.
In addition, he said Mr Ng did not clarify why the details laid out in the statements that were taken when the linesmen were investigated did not tally with the second set of statements recorded just before they were deported.
For instance, in the first set of statements, Mr Abdallah and Mr Ali said that when they met Ding at a restaurant in Singapore, they spoke to him.
But in the second set of statements, they said that they did not speak to him directly, but through the referee, Ali Sabbagh.
When he was shown the two sets of statements, Mr Ng conceded that there were differences between them.
Mr Yusfiyanto then asked Mr Ng if he thought the inconsistencies in the two sets of statements were due to Mr Abdallah’s and Mr Ali’s lack of proficiency in the English language.
Mr Ng replied, "Yes".
Mr Yusfiyanto also asked if Mr Ng was aware that both Mr Abdallah and Mr Ali have given media interviews after their return to Lebanon.
He further asked if Mr Ng was aware that the linesmen told the media in Lebanon that they were innocent of the charges brought against them.
Nr Ng said he was not aware of the media interviews in Lebanon.
Match-fixing trial: Linesman 'ill while giving his statement'
Defence highlights medical episodes as signs that his statements are 'not reliable'
Published on Nov 05, 2013
CPIB officer Ms Png testified that Mr Eid said he felt well when he gave his statement, which is being used as evidence against Eric Ding (above). -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
By Walter Sim
A Lebanese linesman may have been in ill health when he gave a statement saying he accepted sexual bribes to fix a football match, a court heard yesterday.
Mr Ali Eid, 33, had asked for painkillers and complained of numbness before the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) recorded his statement on April 4, said lawyer Yusfiyanto Yatiman, who is defending alleged match-fixer Eric Ding Si Yang, 31.
Mr Yusfiyanto said this could have contributed to the statement being "inaccurate and unreliable".
Linesmen Eid, 33, and Abdallah Taleb, 37, both pleaded guilty to match-fixing charges and were deported to Lebanon after completing three-month jail terms.
Although they said they will return to testify against Ding, neither did. Their statements have been admitted as evidence.
Match-fixing trial centres on Lebanese linesmens’ English proficiency
SINGAPORE: The command of English of two linesmen involved in Eric Ding's match-fixing trial came under scrutiny in court on Wednesday.
The linesmen were among three football match officials allegedly bribed by Ding in the corruption case.
Defence lawyer Yusfiyanto Yatiman argued that Mr Ali Eid and Mr Abdallah Taleb had said in further statements taken before they were deported that they did not understand English.
He asserted that in that case, they would not have understood exchanges between referee Ali Sabbagh and Ding at a café in Singapore in April that allegedly involved the provision of women in return for rigging a match here.
But Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Daryl Ng who took the stand, disagreed with Mr Yusfiyanto's assertion.
Mr Yusfiyanto then drew the court's attention to a phone call from a man to referee Ali Sabbagh, allegedly to inform him that women had arrived for them later that night.
The phone call was answered by Mr Abdallah.
Due to his poor command of English, Mr Yusfiyanto claimed that Mr Abdallah would not have known who the caller was, even though he had identified him as Ding in the statement recorded by Mr Ng.
Mr Yusfiyanto also pointed out an inconsistency in this situation, as Mr Abdallah had failed to identify the caller in the first statement he gave CPIB, but did so in the one he gave Mr Ng.
Mr Ng said he did not know why this was the case, as he simply recorded what Mr Abdallah told him.
Prosecutors painted a different picture of the linesmen's English proficiency.
They brought to the stand the interpreter who had assisted Mr Ng in recording their statements.
The interpreter, Mr Khalid Atwa Nabil said both linesmen could understand basic English.
He testified that they had understood most of what Mr Ng asked them as their statements were being recorded.
For example, during the recording of his statement, Mr Ali Eid had insisted that Mr Atwa use the word "block" in English, to describe how he was against match-fixing.
The trial has been adjourned and will continue on Tuesday. - CNA/nd
SUSPECT: Businessman Eric Ding is on trial for allegedlybribing officials to fix football matches.
Foo Jie Ying
The New Paper
Thursday, Nov 07, 2013
They did not commit any crime of accepting bribes in the form of sexual gratification in return to fix matches.
The women had gone to their hotel rooms to provide "physiotherapy", claimed the two Lebanese assistant referees, Mr Abdallah Taleb and Mr Ali Eid, defence lawyer Yusfiyanto Yatiman said on Monday.
Businessman Eric Ding Si Yang, 31, is on trial for allegedly bribing three Lebanese match officials with prostitutes to fix matches.
Mr Taleb and Mr Eid had earlier pleaded guilty to accepting bribes in the form of sexual gratification to fix matches.
While cross-examining Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) officer Chan Jian Yun on Monday, Mr Yusfiyanto alluded that the discrepancy between Mr Taleb's CPIB statement and his new claim was due to his "state of mind" at the time.
Earlier in the trial, Mr Yusfiyanto had said that Mr Taleb was yelling for close to an hour while recording his statement. Mr Taleb also did not take his dosage of Atarax - a "sedative" and a medicine to treat itchiness - which was seized from him upon arrest.
While cross-examining another CPIB officer, Ms Png Chen Chen, the lawyer said that Mr Eid was not "in the best condition or state of mind to give his answers when he recorded his statement".
Ms Png said Mr Eid had asked for painkillers - one out of the six types of medicine seized from him - for his old injuries after breakfast.
Before dinner, Mr Eid complained of numbness in his arms. He later asked Ms Png for "sugar water" - something his wife, a nurse, made for him when he "faced similar problems" back home.
Mr Yusfiyanto said these two instances should have alerted Ms Png to seek professional medical help for Mr Eid, who was "rushed" to the hospital a day after he finished recording his statement.
While Ms Png agreed that she did not have the necessary qualifications to assess Mr Eid's medical condition, she maintained that he was "stable" and "coherent" during the two hours of recording his statement. The trial continues today, with one more CPIB officer expected to take the stand.
On his third day as a witness in the sex-for-match-fixing trial involving businessman Eric Ding, part-time interpreter Khaled Atwa (above) expressed his frustration.
He called the process “frustrating” and that it made him “tired”.
Ding, 31, had allegedly bribed Lebanese referee Ali Sabbagh and assistant referees Abdallah Taleb and Ali Eid with sexual favours to fix matches.
Mr Atwa interpreted for Mr Taleb and Mr Eid when they gave statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on the day they were repatriated.
Ding’s lawyer, Mr Yusfiyanto Yatiman, cross-examined Mr Atwa yesterday about what exactly Mr Taleb and Mr Eid had said when he recorded their statements.
This was because Mr Atwa had mentioned in court some details about what the two Lebanese had said that was not found in the CPIB statements.
The trial continues today.
Read the full report in The New Paper on Thursday (Nov 14).
A hearing turned into an English lesson of sorts when a defence lawyer started explaining English words to a witness.
Words like "reside", "bulk", "freelance" and "ad hoc" stumped Mr Khaled Atwa, a part-time Egyptian interpreter, during the sex-for-match fixing trial yesterday.
Ding, 31, allegedly bribed Lebanese referee Ali Sabbagh and assistant referees Abdallah Taleb and Ali Eid with sexual favours to fix matches.
Mr Atwa interpreted for Mr Taleb and Mr Eid when they gave statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau on the day they were repatriated.
The English lesson then evolved into one on Arabic slang when Ding's lawyer asked about the difference between Arabic slang in Lebanon and in Egypt.
