KUALA LUMPUR – The Seremban High Court today acquitted and set aside the three-year prison sentence and RM50,000-fine imposed on former national footballer Khairul Anuar Baharom and former footballer G. Prem Kumar.
They were found guilty by the Seremban sessions court in 2020 on charges of offering bribes for match-fixing football matches in 2017.
According to Utusan Malaysia, Judge Datin Rohani Ismail made the decision after allowing the first and second appeal submitted by the accused following thorough examination.
At the proceedings, 48-year-old Khairul was represented by lawyer Ridha Abdah Subri, while 54-year-old Prem was represented by Datuk Geetham Ram Vincent and Carmen Eu Kah Mun.
The prosecution was handled by Negri Sembilan Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Azriff Firdaus Mohamad Ali.
“Finally, the truth is on my side. I am thankful and there is nothing else I want to say,” Khairul said when met by reporters outside the court.
“It has been a trying six years. I have been haunted by this case to a point where I feel ashamed to face anyone.
“Thank God, the court found me innocent. I thank my family and friends who always pray for me.”
Khairul, who is also known as ‘Ah Chong’, and Prem were previously found guilty of two charges of offering bribes of RM10,000 to players and goalkeepers of the Malaysian Indian Football Association (Mifa) team.
It was an incentive to arrange a match between Mifa and the Perak State Development Corporation which took place on April 7, 2017, for Mifa to lose to the latter 0-2.
The offence was committed between 9 to 10 pm on March 27, 2017, at Jalan Andalas 1, Senawang Light Industrial Area in Seremban.
They were charged under Section 16(b)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher. – The Vibes, December 23, 2022
