3 former fin swimming coaches to be charged over falsifying results in 2023 SEA Games selection
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A fin-swimming event at the Morodok Techo Aquatics Centre in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during the 2023 SEA Games.
PHOTO: ANDY CHUA/SNOC
- Three former SUF coaches will be charged on March 12 for falsifying fin-swimming results for the 2023 SEA Games athlete selection.
- Investigations revealed the coaches allegedly submitted falsified results to the SNOC to include six athletes who would not have qualified otherwise.
- SNOC and Sport Singapore condemn the actions, emphasising integrity, after a report led to a police investigation and upcoming court charges.
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SINGAPORE – Three former coaches of the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF) are to be charged on March 12 over the falsification of results in the selection of fin swimming athletes for the 2023 SEA Games.
The police said on March 11 that their investigations revealed the three men had allegedly falsified race results of SUF athletes from an overseas fin swimming event.
Fin swimming is an underwater sport involving swimming on the water’s surface or underwater using either monofins or bi-fins.
The three men, aged 33, 35 and 56, are due to be charged in court over their suspected involvement in abetment by conspiracy to commit forgery for the purpose of cheating. If found guilty, they can be fined and face up to 10 years in jail.
The police received a report from the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) on March 18, 2025, about the suspected submission of falsified results by the federation.
The council oversees the selection of athletes to represent Singapore in major multi-sport events, including the Olympics, while the SUF oversees all underwater sport activities and competitions here. These include disciplines such as fin swimming, underwater hockey, freediving, scuba diving and snorkelling.
The police said the three men allegedly conspired to submit a document containing these falsified results to the SNOC to appeal for the athletes’ inclusion in the biennial Games. Six SUF athletes were eventually selected to take part in that edition of the Games in Cambodia.
“These six athletes would not have been selected had it not been for the falsified results,” the police said.
In a joint statement on March 11, the SNOC and national sports agency Sport Singapore said that they do not condone any actions that undermine the integrity of the selection process for major Games.
“We take this opportunity to remind our sporting community to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in their conduct,” they said.
The two organisations had announced in another joint statement in March 2025 that the SUF submitted falsified results for the women’s 4x200m relay surface event for the 2023 SEA Games.
A committee of inquiry was convened by the two organisations on July 1, 2024, to investigate allegations that the SUF submitted falsified results for the relay team.
In 2023, Singapore sent 11 fin swimmers to the Cambodia Games, including the relay team. They finished last out of four in the women’s 4x200m surface relay final.
Athletes who met or surpassed the benchmarks achieved by the third-placed finishers of an event at the 2021 SEA Games would be considered for selection for the 2023 Games, according to the SNOC’s selection criteria. For team sports, they must be ranked third among the SEA Games countries. Those who marginally miss the qualifying standard but “show potential to equal or surpass it” in time for the Games may be considered.
Singapore’s best results for fin swimming at the biennial Games came in its debut year in 2003, when they picked up one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.
