S'porean nabbed for Italian match fixing
Zaihan Mohamed Yusof The New Paper Saturday, Apr 18, 2015
A Singaporean wanted by the Italian authorities was arrested after arriving on a flight at Jakarta, Indonesia.
The capture of Poh Hock Kheng was disclosed to The New Paper by a high-level law enforcement official in Indonesia recently.
The source said the Indonesian authorities were obliged to act on an international arrest warrant issued by the Italians.
Poh, 47, who has been in Indonesian custody for almost a month, had been accused by the Italian authorities in 2011 for being a member of an international match-fixing cartel based in Singapore.
The official, who declined to be named, said: "Poh spent 20 days in jail and he was later transferred to a police station. Meanwhile, we're liaising with the Italians over extradition procedures."
It is believed that Poh was one of Singaporean kelong king Dan Tan Seet Eng's lieutenants. Tan was arrested by the Singapore authorities in September 2013. He remains in detention without trial.
PROBE
The Cremona probe, as it was known in Italy, alleges that Poh and Tan were among scores of men from Singapore and Eastern Europe who were linked to the alleged fixing of Serie A and Serie B matches.
The cartel was said to have made millions of dollars by rigging 33 matches.
Poh had made frequent trips to Italy as early as 2010.
The Cremona investigations revealed that he maintained telephone and SMS contacts with members of a "Bologna Group".
Italian documents show that Poh was the supposed link to the group, which included a former Serie A footballer.
His movements in Italy had been tracked by investigators in a 500-page report that identifies his European associates and their activities.
He was said to have "initiated contacts" and "defined agreements" with the Bologna Group with regard to placing bets on illegal Asian betting sites.
A business profile search under Poh's name revealed his address to be a flat in eastern Singapore.
When TNP went to the flat yesterday, an elderly woman, who identified herself as Poh's mother, answered the door.
The woman, who declined to give her name, said it had been a while since she spoke to her son.
"He just said he was going overseas one or two months ago... He was last here a few months back," she said.
