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http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Sports/Story/A1Story20110322-269462.html
'People say I'm a disgrace to Singapore'
The New Paper
Tue, Mar 22, 2011
<!-- CONTENT NEWS: start -->By Joyce Lim
THE fall from grace has been painful.
Once, Wong Jing Ching was a taekwon-do champion, having bagged a gold medal at the 1993 Southeast Asia Games.
So proud was he of his achievement that he added an alias in his identity card - Patrick Champion Wong.
But he could never relive his glory days. He went in and out of training, and took part in local tournaments.
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Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: TNP)
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He also went into business, and in 2007, he worked as a bodyguard.
Then last year, he became a pimp, bringing in women from Uzbekistan and bribing security guards at a hotel where he housed the women.
To compound matters, his wife who is originally from that country, was involved too.
They were both caught and fined.
The New Paper met Wong, 40, last Wednesday.
His voice quivering and tears welling in his eyes, he said: "People are... saying that I am a disgrace to Singapore.
"Do they know how much I have sacrificed and suffered for taekwon-do?
"I don't deny that I have made a big mistake in my life.
"The law has given me a chance, God has given me a chance.
"Now, why can't Singaporeans give me a chance?"
After Wong was charged in court last year, he and his wife quarrelled often, blaming each other for breaking the law.
When news of his offences appeared in media reports in January this year, Wong said his friends started avoiding his calls and stayed away from him.
Wong, who has a 19-month-old daughter, stopped taking his family out.
The only place they would go together as a family was to his parents' home for dinner in the evenings.
At first, he was too ashamed to face his parents, he said, but his parents showed him love and support, which helped him get through the difficult times.
The former athlete used to be so proud of his achievements in taekwon-do that he would display his medals inside his car.
But since his appearance in court last year, Wong has removed those items from his car.
He said: "My life is gone now. Do you know that taekwondo is my life?
"Now that I have a daughter, I should be so proud to tell her that her daddy was a gold medallist in taekwon-do.
"I wanted to teach her taekwon-do when she grows older.
Now, I don't think I will do that any more.
"I will not mention anything about taekwondo that will link her back to this incident."
He said he knows he has done wrong, adding: "I... made a mistake and I have paid my dues. It has nothing to do with taekwondo.
"It was a moment of folly... I am paying for it with my life now.
"I can no longer fulfil my dream in taekwon-do."
In 2007, Wong became a bodyguard for a client whose identity he said he has to keep confidential.
During one of his work trips to Malaysia, he met his Uzbekistani wife Shirinbekova Yelena, 23.
"She was there on holiday... She was attractive and caught my eyes. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch," Wong said.
He later invited her to Singapore for a holiday and developed their relationship further.
The couple registered their marriage here in 2009.
He said: "At night, it is my wife who puts my daughter to bed, and I wake her up in the mornings... I love to play with her. My daughter is very close to us because we spend a lot of time with her every day.
"We want to put the past behind us. I will work hard and provide the best for my family."
He's also ashamed of the pain he has caused the Singapore taekwon-do Federation.
Calling himself a taekwon-do fanatic, Wong was determined to be a champion despite being beaten during his first SEA Games selection trials in 1988.
His coach Lim Teong Chin gave him two options then.
He said: "My coach told me: You either quit taekwon-do now, or you become unbeatable."
Wong quit school so that he could dedicate all his time to taekwon-do. He trained seven days a week and more than 12 hours a day.
He recalled: "I would wake up at 5am to run and do my weights training in the gym before practising my kicks in the afternoons. In the evenings, there would be the national squad training. After that, I would go running again.
"I wanted to be the fastest player... "
At the 1993 SEA Games, Wong beat his Malaysian opponent with his kicks. The score was 5 - 3. It was a milestone year for taekwon-do with the sport bagging five gold medals at the Games.
But Wong fractured his shin during the 1995 SEA Games, and later underwent surgery to insert a metal plate into his shin.
He then left the sport and worked as a flight steward.
He said: "I sat for the English paper at the GCE O level exams only after I quit school. With a B3 in English, what can I do? I was hired because I was a former SEA Games gold medallist."
Wong worked as a flight steward for seven years before leaving to operate pubs and karaoke lounges in 2003. He sold off his businesses in 2010.
Wong was bent on making a comeback to the taekwon-do scene.
In 2006, he came in third at the National taekwon-do Championships, second in 2007 and 2009, and won a bronze last year.
Wong wanted to win another gold medal for the country and for his precious daughter.
That hope is gone for now.
Wong's ex-coach: He said sorry to me
WHEN news of his charges first appeared in the papers, Wong Jing Ching called his former coach.
Wong's former coach Lim Teong Chin, 63, general manager of the Singapore taekwon-do Federation, said: "He came to my office and said that he needed to explain to me his side of the story.
"He said sorry to me for making the mistake... and for tarnishing the image of taekwon-do."
<table style="float: right;" border="0" width="212" height="350"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr><tr><td>Photo: Mr Lim Teong Chin was Wong Jing Ching's coach when the latter won Singapore's first gold medal in taekwondo in the 1993 SEA Games.
- Choo Chwee Hwa
</td></tr></tbody></table>Mr Lim said he had no idea that Wong had Champion as his alias.
He said: "Jing Ching is not a cocky man. There is a thin line between being cocky and confident.
"During our training back then, we taught all our athletes to think of themselves as champions.
"They were taught to live and train like champions. They even printed the words "We are champions, we are winners" on their T-shirts to remind themselves that they are champions."
Trained together
Four-time SEA Games gold medallist Wong Liang Ming recalled training together with Wong for the 1993 SEA Games.
The 48-year-old, now head coach of the Singapore national team, said: "Jing Ching was so passionate about taekwon-do that he used to talk about nothing else. taekwon-do is his life."
Taekwon-do coach Darren Lee, 47, described Wong as a quiet and humble man.
Former team-mate and SEA Games gold medallist Tan Kheng Juan, 43, remembered how Wong fought hard to get into the team.
Mr Tan, now chief coach of the National University of Singapore taekwon-do Club, said: "He is very hard-working and did not give up though he didn't make it for the first selection trials. He even quit school so that he could train full-time."
About the case
ON FEB 25, Wong Jing Ching, 40, was fined $29,000 for introducing customers to Uzbekistani prostitutes and bribing two security officers of a hotel to turn a blind eye to the vice activities.
Wong was caught last June. He faced charges for taking a cut from the prostitutes for every customer he brought to them and for being a contact point for the prostitutes.
Wong's Uzbekistani wife Shirinbekova Yelean, 23, pleaded guilty to helping him and was fined $8,000.
The couple could have been jailed up to five years and fined up to $10,000 each for living off immoral earnings.
For managing a contact point for prostitutes, they could have been fined up to $3,000, jailed up to three years or both.
The maximum penalty for corruption is $100,000 fine and five years' jail on each charge.
<!-- Start For Web Only -->This article was first published in The New Paper.
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'People say I'm a disgrace to Singapore'
The New Paper
Tue, Mar 22, 2011
<!-- CONTENT NEWS: start -->By Joyce Lim
THE fall from grace has been painful.
Once, Wong Jing Ching was a taekwon-do champion, having bagged a gold medal at the 1993 Southeast Asia Games.
So proud was he of his achievement that he added an alias in his identity card - Patrick Champion Wong.
But he could never relive his glory days. He went in and out of training, and took part in local tournaments.
<!-- Start Photo Gallery --><table border="0" cellSpacing="1" cellPadding="1" width="620" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="font: bold 14px/normal Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 102, 204); font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;" colSpan="5">'People say I'm a disgrace to Singapore'
Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: TNP)
</td></tr><tr><td width="120">
</td><td width="120"></td><td width="120"></td><td width="120"></td><td width="120"></td></tr><tr><td width="120"></td><td width="120"></td><td width="120"></td><td width="120"></td></tr></tbody></table><!-- End Photo Gallery -->
He also went into business, and in 2007, he worked as a bodyguard.
Then last year, he became a pimp, bringing in women from Uzbekistan and bribing security guards at a hotel where he housed the women.
To compound matters, his wife who is originally from that country, was involved too.
They were both caught and fined.
The New Paper met Wong, 40, last Wednesday.
His voice quivering and tears welling in his eyes, he said: "People are... saying that I am a disgrace to Singapore.
"Do they know how much I have sacrificed and suffered for taekwon-do?
"I don't deny that I have made a big mistake in my life.
"The law has given me a chance, God has given me a chance.
"Now, why can't Singaporeans give me a chance?"
After Wong was charged in court last year, he and his wife quarrelled often, blaming each other for breaking the law.
When news of his offences appeared in media reports in January this year, Wong said his friends started avoiding his calls and stayed away from him.
Wong, who has a 19-month-old daughter, stopped taking his family out.
The only place they would go together as a family was to his parents' home for dinner in the evenings.
At first, he was too ashamed to face his parents, he said, but his parents showed him love and support, which helped him get through the difficult times.
The former athlete used to be so proud of his achievements in taekwon-do that he would display his medals inside his car.
But since his appearance in court last year, Wong has removed those items from his car.
He said: "My life is gone now. Do you know that taekwondo is my life?
"Now that I have a daughter, I should be so proud to tell her that her daddy was a gold medallist in taekwon-do.
"I wanted to teach her taekwon-do when she grows older.
Now, I don't think I will do that any more.
"I will not mention anything about taekwondo that will link her back to this incident."
He said he knows he has done wrong, adding: "I... made a mistake and I have paid my dues. It has nothing to do with taekwondo.
"It was a moment of folly... I am paying for it with my life now.
"I can no longer fulfil my dream in taekwon-do."
In 2007, Wong became a bodyguard for a client whose identity he said he has to keep confidential.
During one of his work trips to Malaysia, he met his Uzbekistani wife Shirinbekova Yelena, 23.
"She was there on holiday... She was attractive and caught my eyes. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch," Wong said.
He later invited her to Singapore for a holiday and developed their relationship further.
The couple registered their marriage here in 2009.
He said: "At night, it is my wife who puts my daughter to bed, and I wake her up in the mornings... I love to play with her. My daughter is very close to us because we spend a lot of time with her every day.
"We want to put the past behind us. I will work hard and provide the best for my family."
He's also ashamed of the pain he has caused the Singapore taekwon-do Federation.
Calling himself a taekwon-do fanatic, Wong was determined to be a champion despite being beaten during his first SEA Games selection trials in 1988.
His coach Lim Teong Chin gave him two options then.
He said: "My coach told me: You either quit taekwon-do now, or you become unbeatable."
Wong quit school so that he could dedicate all his time to taekwon-do. He trained seven days a week and more than 12 hours a day.
He recalled: "I would wake up at 5am to run and do my weights training in the gym before practising my kicks in the afternoons. In the evenings, there would be the national squad training. After that, I would go running again.
"I wanted to be the fastest player... "
At the 1993 SEA Games, Wong beat his Malaysian opponent with his kicks. The score was 5 - 3. It was a milestone year for taekwon-do with the sport bagging five gold medals at the Games.
But Wong fractured his shin during the 1995 SEA Games, and later underwent surgery to insert a metal plate into his shin.
He then left the sport and worked as a flight steward.
He said: "I sat for the English paper at the GCE O level exams only after I quit school. With a B3 in English, what can I do? I was hired because I was a former SEA Games gold medallist."
Wong worked as a flight steward for seven years before leaving to operate pubs and karaoke lounges in 2003. He sold off his businesses in 2010.
Wong was bent on making a comeback to the taekwon-do scene.
In 2006, he came in third at the National taekwon-do Championships, second in 2007 and 2009, and won a bronze last year.
Wong wanted to win another gold medal for the country and for his precious daughter.
That hope is gone for now.
Wong's ex-coach: He said sorry to me
WHEN news of his charges first appeared in the papers, Wong Jing Ching called his former coach.
Wong's former coach Lim Teong Chin, 63, general manager of the Singapore taekwon-do Federation, said: "He came to my office and said that he needed to explain to me his side of the story.
"He said sorry to me for making the mistake... and for tarnishing the image of taekwon-do."
<table style="float: right;" border="0" width="212" height="350"><tbody><tr><td>
- Choo Chwee Hwa
</td></tr></tbody></table>Mr Lim said he had no idea that Wong had Champion as his alias.
He said: "Jing Ching is not a cocky man. There is a thin line between being cocky and confident.
"During our training back then, we taught all our athletes to think of themselves as champions.
"They were taught to live and train like champions. They even printed the words "We are champions, we are winners" on their T-shirts to remind themselves that they are champions."
Trained together
Four-time SEA Games gold medallist Wong Liang Ming recalled training together with Wong for the 1993 SEA Games.
The 48-year-old, now head coach of the Singapore national team, said: "Jing Ching was so passionate about taekwon-do that he used to talk about nothing else. taekwon-do is his life."
Taekwon-do coach Darren Lee, 47, described Wong as a quiet and humble man.
Former team-mate and SEA Games gold medallist Tan Kheng Juan, 43, remembered how Wong fought hard to get into the team.
Mr Tan, now chief coach of the National University of Singapore taekwon-do Club, said: "He is very hard-working and did not give up though he didn't make it for the first selection trials. He even quit school so that he could train full-time."
About the case
ON FEB 25, Wong Jing Ching, 40, was fined $29,000 for introducing customers to Uzbekistani prostitutes and bribing two security officers of a hotel to turn a blind eye to the vice activities.
Wong was caught last June. He faced charges for taking a cut from the prostitutes for every customer he brought to them and for being a contact point for the prostitutes.
Wong's Uzbekistani wife Shirinbekova Yelean, 23, pleaded guilty to helping him and was fined $8,000.
The couple could have been jailed up to five years and fined up to $10,000 each for living off immoral earnings.
For managing a contact point for prostitutes, they could have been fined up to $3,000, jailed up to three years or both.
The maximum penalty for corruption is $100,000 fine and five years' jail on each charge.
<!-- Start For Web Only -->This article was first published in The New Paper.
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