Opinion | Low stakes and lower interest – why does no one seem to care about match-fixing in Hong Kong soccer?
Fans being more bothered about World Cup television pricing than the plague on domestic league makes it difficult for HKFA and ICAC to battle betting
Two weeks after four co-defendants were dismissed without charge because of the credibility of the witness, former Hong Kong footballer of the year Lee Wai-lim was sentenced. He had pleaded guilty, the only one of the five players to do so.
When the initial reports broke, the number was HK$90,000 split between six people. That is not a great deal of money, even accounting for the poor pay of players in Hong Kong. It’s sad that such a small figure could prove tempting.
Lee said he was paid HK$20,000 to fix matches but had to pay half of it back as he had failed to fix the score in one game. Instead, his Pegasus side won. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Instead of jail time, Lee has to complete 180 hours of community service.