Former coach gets jail over conspiracy to falsify finswimming results for SEA Games selection

A former finswimming coach in Singapore received a week-long jail term for conspiring with his deputy and head coach to tamper with competition results, aiming to secure athlete placements in the Southeast Asian Games. Muhammad Faiz Suhaimi, 33, admitted to conspiring in the fabrication of electronic records to commit fraud. The charges against him were compounded by two additional allegations.

Ho Ho Huat, 56, the former vice-president of sports and head coach of finswimming at the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF), and Gary Lee Quan Hua, 36, a former assistant finswimming coach at SUF, were identified as his alleged accomplices. The falsified documents enabled six extra athletes to be chosen to represent Singapore in finswimming at the 2023 SEA Games, including Ho's daughter.

The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) implemented a selection process and committee to determine athletes for the SEA Games. When some finswimming events were removed in December 2022, Ho suggested nominating more athletes via an appeal process. He managed to send five male athletes to the first Malaysian Fin Swimming Championship in Malaysia, though no official results were released.

Ho then proposed falsifying the championship results with Faiz and Lee. They initially hesitated but, fearing confrontation, agreed to falsify the results. Faiz created false electronic records for four events, claiming female athletes participated when only males competed. They later agreed to add the falsified results to the official sheet upon request.

The SNOC's Appeal Committee ultimately selected eight athletes for the 2023 SEA Games, with two already qualified for another event. The remaining six athletes, including Ho's daughter, would not have been selected without the falsified results. SNOC incurred extra costs of approximately S$15,700 (US$12,360) to send the six athletes to the SEA Games.

Ho was dismissed from his position at SUF in December 2023. Faiz and Lee subsequently informed an anonymous whistleblower about the falsified results. Subsequent investigations led to the establishment of a Committee of Inquiry, which confirmed the falsification of results and Ho's central role. The prosecution requested a fine, considering Faiz's voluntary disclosure and his relative position to Ho.

Faiz could face up to four years in jail, a fine, or both for conspiring to make a false electronic record to commit fraud.