Bigger fish unveiled in Wilson Raj's kelong e-book

SINGAPORE - Their names may be "new", but they are certainly not novices in the kelong game.

They are the previously unknown big fish who have been exposed in the pages of Wilson Raj Perumal's e-book, titled Kelong Kings, co-written by two Italian journalists.

In 2011, convicted match fixer Wilson Raj spent a year in a Finland jail for fixing the country's football league.

The 48-year-old was again detained in Finland on April 16.

The names have never been made public in recent match fixing investigations - until now.

Perhaps Wilson Raj wants to make the point that he is not at the centre of the dark world of football match fixing.

And nor are Dan Tan Seet Eng and 1990s kelong king Rajendran "Pal" Kurusamy.

Since the 1990s, scores of runners, bookies, financiers, agents and money mules have allegedly worked with Singapore match fixers to manipulate football globally. But just who are they?

AH KANG

Wilson Raj revealed for the first time his links to China and a betting house boss named Ah Kang, who had occasionally placed large bets on his behalf.

Ah Kang was able to provide "millions in credit" to match fixers, especially if he knew a football match had been fixed.

The moneyman was so impressed with Wilson Raj's handiwork that he had invited him to China to see his operations in Xiamen in South-east China.

Wilson Raj sent a representative instead.

From his betting house in an industrial part of Xiamen, Ah Kang had 10 men, each sitting in front of a computer, waiting for Ah Kang's betting instructions.

The mainland Chinese had once told a Singaporean match fixer: "How much credit do you need?

"There is no senior master agent involved, just my betting house that can place your wagers on credit in one shot.

"You want to play Roma vs Napoli? Pick up the telephone, tell me how much your order is and I will do the job for you."

HARRY

Another name that popped up in Wilson Raj's e-book is "Harry", described as a rival to Dan Tan, the Singaporean named as the mastermind in the Italian and Hungarian match-fixing probes.

Tan, who was arrested in September in a massive anti-kelong crackdown in Singapore, was in a secret war with Harry, revealed Wilson Raj.

Both men were vying for Ah Kang's favour and business.

In the 2008 Merdeka Cup, Wilson Raj had admitted to hatching an elaborate plot to get even with Harry on Tan's behalf. The aim was to make Harry lose "big money".

Tan had allegedly said to Wilson Raj: "I want to teach this f***** a lesson. Let's see who's the boss, let's see who's the Big Boss."

Unknown to Harry, the captain of one visiting African football team was in fact a Mali-born S.League footballer working for Wilson Raj.

Harry ordered the team to win. The fake captain assured Harry his team could easily beat their rival, a South-east Asian team.

On match day, the African team lost 4-0. It is not clear how much Harry lost.

Harry is described as a senior master agent with a regional betting house. One law enforcement officer told The New Paper that Harry had previously been convicted of manslaughter.

Harry was allegedly behind fixed matches during the 2008 Intercontinental Cup in Malaysia, and the 2008 Lebanon vs Singapore 2010 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Beirut. Lebanon lost 2-1 to Singapore.

RP

The arrest of two men in Syria had exposed one prominent unlicensed moneylender from Singapore.

The man, known in Wilson Raj's book by the initials RP, was one of two men nabbed in 2009 for trying to bribe players from Tishreen SC, a Syrian football club.

Wilson Raj had earlier received a tip-off informing him that the team was about to call the police. He warned RP but was ignored.

RP had allegedly said to him: "You're just messing around with me. The players all agreed and now you come and tell me that the police are after us? Give me a break."

The hotel room where the match fixers met the players was rigged with hidden cameras. Syrian police then ambushed the fixers.

RP spent five months in a Syrian prison and allegedly paid US$100,000 ($125,000) to secure his freedom.

Former Fifa head of security, Mr Chris Eaton, verified Wilson Raj's account in 2011.

Mr Eaton wrote in an e-mail to TNP: "Both players informed the head of the club and the trainer about the matter, and the two Singaporeans were then brought before the public prosecutor. "They were deported after being prosecuted in Syrian courts."

The great expose

Two men shed some light on Wilson Raj Perumal's motive in telling all.

One of them is Mr Alessandro Righi, one of two co-authors of Kelong Kings.

The other is a man who has known Wilson Raj since the 1990s. He does not want to be identified.

Was Wilson Raj trying to make money from his e-book?

Mr Righi told The New Paper last week: "Wilson has not seen a single dollar from the publishing of the e-book and he has put his livelihood and personal safety at risk by revealing the things written in Kelong Kings."

Why does he expose the others?

His friend told TNP yesterday: "I sense he's confident he will never return to Singapore. It is his character to have the last say. In a way, he wants people to know that Wilson Raj was the one who exposed the others involved in kelong activities."

Does he stand by what he says?

Mr Righi said: "When publishers turned us down because of legal worries, Wilson Raj told us to go ahead and publish ourselves, even going to the extent of proposing to take the full burden and responsibility of his revelations upon himself."

What was Wilson Raj doing in Finland when he was last arrested?

The friend said: "All I can say is that it doesn't make sense that he was there to see his family. He could have met his wife and two children elsewhere."

This article was published on May 6 in The New Paper.

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