Life has been a rollercoaster ride the past weeks for Dan Tan Seet Eng, who is accused of leading the world’s largest football syndicate.
He has been released and re-arrested in a span of two weeks, and today the Ministry of Home Affairs got the go-signal from the Court of Appeal to keep him under a special law designed to keep suspected criminals under detention without having to charge them in court.
Before his release last Nov 25, Tan had been held for more than two years also under a detention order, but the CA ordered his release, saying his detention had been “unlawful.”
The court added that that Tan’s alleged illegal activities also took place outside of Singapore and stated that he did not pose a danger to public safety in the city-state.
Today’s detention order, however, received the consent of the court after the MHA proved the seriousness of Tan’s criminal activities. It said Tan “has intimidated witness to the extend that they continue to be unwilling to testify against him for fear of reprisal.”
Tan’s release last month was criticised by football’s world-governing body FIFA, who said it was “very disappointed…given the gravity of his past activities relating to match manipulation.”
Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam denied that international pressure was a factor in Tan’s re-arrest. “We don’t arrest or release people based on international pressure, we do what is right for Singapore,” he said. With AFP.
Photo: AFP
