SINGSOC reviewing reselling of tickets by Myanmar shop owner

SINGAPORE — After more than 2,000 tickets for the SEA Games football final were sold to a single person who resold it for a tidy profit, the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) said it is reviewing the matter with the relevant authorities, adding that it takes a serious view of ticket scalping.

The 2,050 tickets for the final between Myanmar and Thailand on June 15 were bought at S$21 each (inclusive of a S$1 booking fee) by shop owner Ye Win Paing, who resold them at S$25 each to Myanmar fans — although this is against SINGSOC’s rules.

SINGSOC corporate and community outreach chief Toh Boon Yi said it had initially sold 2,050 tickets to “Golden Myanmar Group”, the name of the group of fans Mr Ye said he was making the purchase for. These tickets were sold at a 20 per cent discount as part of SINGSOC’s ticketing policy of extending group discounts for bulk purchases by groups and individuals.

But when it found out that the Golden Myanmar Group was planning to collect the standard ticket price from its members, it withdrew the discount and charged the standard price of S$20 (excluding the S$1 booking fee).

“We now understand that tickets were sold at S$25 with the difference allegedly donated to a charitable cause. SINGSOC is reviewing the matter with the relevant authorities,” Mr Tay said.

Speaking to TODAY at his shop at Peninsula Plaza, Mr Ye claimed the profits he had made were donated to the Myanmar SEA Games football team, who lost the final 3-0.

He also denied any wrongdoing and produced an invoice of S$43,050 issued on June 14 by APACTix, the sole distributor of SEA Games tickets. But the 27-year-old admitted selling each for S$4 more and produced a photograph showing him purportedly handing the excess money to Myanmar team coach Kyi Lwin and other officials a day after the final.

“I did not make any money from it and in fact gave another S$300 out of my own pocket to them,” said the 27-year-old Myanmar native, who is now a Singaporean. “I don’t want to add anything more to this, but I think some people are jealous of my business.”

The Myanmar Football Federation did not respond to queries at press time.

Reselling SEA Games tickets without authorisation is forbidden by SINGSOC but Mr Ye shrugged it off, saying “other people are also doing it”. “I sold them because there were a lot of requests from Myanmar supporters,” he added.

TODAY understands SINGSOC is handling the matter and Mr Ye is currently not under any police investigation. But the police allegedly went to his shop on the eve of the final, and according to Mr Ye, he was told to close his shop the next day to prevent a last-minute rush for tickets by fans.

Among those who bought tickets from Mr Ye was Myanmar fan Kyaw Jan Jan Bo. Asked why he did not get tickets from authorised dealers, Mr Kyaw, who had initially accused Mr Ye of profiteering, said it was more convenient to get them from the Peninsula Plaza shop.

He added that he was not aware that part of the proceeds from the ticket sale would supposedly go to the Myanmar team when he bought them.

“If Ye really did not sell the tickets to make a huge profit, then, let’s forget this,” he added.