Alleged match-fixing kingpin Dan Tan Seet Eng is being detained without trial under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA) for the second time.
A statement issued by the Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) yesterday revealed that Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam, with the consent of the Public Prosecutor, issued a Detention Order against the 51-year-old for his involvement in global match-fixing.
Tan was detained without trial for two years before he was released on Nov 25 after the Court of Appeal found that his alleged match-fixing activities did not threaten public safety here. He was re-arrested by the police last Tuesday.
The MHA, in its statement, highlighted that in its judgment, the Court of Appeal accepted that Detention Orders can be issued under the CLTPA for match-fixing activities. It ruled that the grounds for detention "must, on the face of it, show that the activities have a bearing on public safety, peace and good order in Singapore, and were considered serious by the Minister".
The Detention Order which had been issued against Tan on Oct 2, 2013, under the CLTPA, had to be set aside because the grounds stated in the Order were defective, the court ruled, according to the MHA statement. In the Court of Appeal's view, the grounds did not expressly show that Tan's activities had a bearing on the public safety, peace and good order within Singapore.
The MHA said that it respects and accepts the Court of Appeal's judgment.
The new Detention Order which had been issued against Tan yesterday expressly sets out the grounds which show the extent of his match-fixing activities from and within Singapore, and why this necessitates the issuance of a Detention Order under the CLTPA, the ministry said.
"The grounds set out the seriousness of Dan Tan's criminal activities over many years, their impact on public safety, peace and good order within Singapore, and the fact that he has intimidated witnesses to the extent that they continue to be unwilling to testify against him for fear of reprisal," it added.
When asked about Tan's next step, his lawyer Hamidul Haq said: "We have not seen the grounds for the Detention Order just yet, and in any case, we will need to seek our client's instructions."
