AN ACCOMPLICE of notorious football match- fixer Wilson Raj Perumal was jailed almost three years yesterday for two passport offences - and for harbouring the so-called "Kelong King".
Raja Morgan Chelliah, 36, admitted last month to providing false information to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to procure a Singapore biometric passport bearing Wilson Raj's photograph - but issued under the name of another accomplice, Subramaniam Sellapah.
He also pleaded guilty to selling the fraudulent passport for $5,000 to a middleman, of which he paid $2,000 to Subramaniam, and for harbouring Wilson Raj by providing him with that passport and another in the name of Raja Morgan.
Raja Morgan, who got to known Wilson Raj in Changi Prison, was jailed for a total of 34 months. He appeared in court in a black and grey sweater and maroon trousers.
Raja Morgan previously served a year in jail after he was convicted in February 2011 of providing Wilson Raj with the first passport, which bore his own name and particulars, but Wilson Raj's photo.
Wilson Raj is wanted in Singapore for evading a five-year corrective training sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Navin Naidu argued that not only had Raja Morgan committed the same offence twice, but his help was key to Wilson Raj evading capture. Wilson Raj used the second passport to travel to Switzerland, Hungary, Austria and South Africa, where visas are not required for Singaporeans.
This made his harbouring of Wilson Raj even more severe than the traditional definition of harbouring a criminal, he said. Wilson Raj's use of the fraudulent passports may also damage the international credibility of Singapore passports.
"Due to Wilson Raj's notoriety in match-fixing circles, it was inevitable that much adverse publicity was visited upon the integrity of Singapore passports," said Mr Naidu.
Raja Morgan's mitigation plea - claiming that he was not aware of Wilson Raj's notoriety - was dismissed.
The court ordered him to serve 20 months for providing false information to the ICA, 24 months for selling the fraudulent passport and 10 months for harbouring Wilson Raj. The first sentence will be served concurrently.
Raja Morgan said before the sentencing that he had been expecting to receive 45 months' jail.
