National table tennis player under CPIB probe
CPIB investigates alleged bribery attempt after STTA raises alarm
Officers from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) paid a visit to the Singapore Table Tennis Association's (STTA) Toa Payoh headquarters yesterday, with sources revealing that a national men's player and his relative were being investigated for alleged attempted bribery of an official from the national sports association.
The New Paper understands that national men's player Li Hu was the paddler in question, but it remained unclear what prompted the alleged bribery attempt that was brought to the attention of authorities by the STTA.
In addition to the paddler and his relative, the CPIB also took statements from STTA officials.
When contacted, the STTA declined to comment on the matter as investigations are ongoing.
In response to queries from The New Paper, the CPIB declined to ascertain facts of the case.
"Due to the nature of our work, we will not confirm or deny whether any individual or identity is being investigated for corrupt practices," said its statement.
Li is currently ranked 58th in the world and struck gold at the 2015 South-east Asia Games held in Singapore. He was part of the men's winning team and partnered Gao Ning to win gold in the men's doubles gold. He also clinched a bronze in the mixed doubles.
He is the Republic's second highest ranked men's paddler, with Gao Ning sitting 17 spots above him in 41st spot.
While Gao made it to August's Rio Olympics, Li did not.
He was beaten to the qualifying spot by teammate Chen Feng (world No. 149) in the final of the South-east Asia segment of the table tennis Asia Olympic qualifiers in Hong Kong in June.
The men's team did not qualify for the Olympics.
This year, Li's best showing was a second-placed finish in the men's singles at the Australian Open.
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