A magistrate praised two Hong Kong youth soccer stars for resisting bribes as he sent one of their teammates to a detention centre yesterday for trying to get them to throw a showpiece international game that left the government red-faced.
Sentencing Iu Wai, 20, Peter Law Tak-chuen said an attempt to fix a friendly game between Hong Kong and Russian youth sides last month was 'very serious' because it put a stigma on the city.
In a case that further embarrassed scandal-plagued local soccer administrators as well as the government, Iu had earlier pleaded guilty in Kowloon City Court to two counts of offering an advantage.
The game was arranged by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen during a visit to the city by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April in what was seen at the time as an important public-relations coup.
Law praised defender Chan Cham-hei and goalkeeper Chiu Yu-ming for resisting the temptation to take tens of thousands of dollars offered by Iu. They alerted the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Iu, an up-and-coming defender for Hong Kong Sapling club, who was also in the Hong Kong under-21 side, will serve up to 12 months under strict discipline in a sentence used as an alternative to prison for young offenders.
He was arrested when graft-busters raided the international match, attended by 5,000 spectators at Mong Kok Stadium on November 5. The Russians won 2-1.