SINGAPORE, March 20 — Three Singapore finswimmers and two coaches have pledged full cooperation with the police investigation into falsified results submitted during the selection process for the 2023 SEA Games.
In a joint statement today, athletes Vanessa Ong, Bernice Ting, and Jamie Ang, along with team manager Faiz Suhaimi and assistant coach Gary Lee, expressed confidence in the authorities and said they trust that “the truth will prevail.”
“We are committed to cooperating fully with the investigation and respecting its integrity,” they said.
Their commitment follows revelations by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) yesterday that the Singapore Underwater Federation (SUF) had submitted fabricated results for an event the swimmers never competed in.
Notably absent from the statement were the fourth swimmer in the women’s 4x200m surface relay, Jovita Ho, and her father, Desmond Ho, the SUF’s former vice-president.
Jovita told Channel News Asia (CNA) she had not been aware of a police investigation until the news broke, adding that she assumed the matter had been resolved after being interviewed by SNOC last August.
Her father, Desmond, denied any role in submitting the results, stating that the task was handled by team manager Faiz.
He also pointed to a divide in the finswimming community, saying attempts to communicate with the other coaches had gone unanswered.
As investigations continue, questions remain over accountability, with athletes maintaining they were unaware of the falsified results.
Finswimming teammate Lim Yao Xiang, who was not part of the 2023 SEA Games squad, said the sport’s reintroduction to Singapore in 2021 had left qualifying standards unclear. However, he stressed that those in leadership positions must take responsibility.
“How can you be a leader or have a high position and claim zero responsibility?” he was quoted as saying by CNA.