SINGAPORE — The verdict on the case of alleged football match-fixer Eric Ding will be delivered on July 1.

Ding is accused of bribing three Lebanese match officials with prostitutes in return for fixing a match in Singapore in April last year.

The defence closed its case today (April 10).

At the start of the defence’s case today, lawyer Hamidul Haq said the prosecution had failed to prove the existence of any corrupt element and corrupt intent.

He said the prosecution also failed to secure the attendance of the two linesmen Abdallah Taleb and Ali Eid, and had only relied on their statements to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Mr Haq said that after the two linesmen returned to Lebanon, they claimed that they had pleaded guilty so that they could return home as quickly as possible.

The defence also raised points made by prosecution witnesses during cross-examination that Ding had been preparing to write a book on football match-fixing.

The defence’s only witness Jegathesan K Rajagopal, who was a sports editor at The New Paper, testified that he was not aware of this.

If convicted, Ding can be jailed up to five years and fined $100,000 on each of his three charges. CHANNEL NEWSASIA