Ex-spokesman for Joseph Schooling charged with 21 counts of cheating
Former sports agent Mohamed Hafidz Ja'afar, who previously served as Olympic champion Joseph Schooling's spokesman and used to manage his swim school, has been charged with cheating several people.
He allegedly duped them into paying for fake football match and music concert tickets, investments and sports apparel.
The 38-year-old was charged in court last Friday with 21 counts of cheating. The alleged offences, which involved about $87,300, occurred between November 2017 and July 2019.
Thirteen of the charges pertain to the allegation that Hafidz took money from several people to purchase tickets for the International Champions Cup (ICC) - an exhibition football tournament - in Singapore in 2019 but never delivered them.
Hafidz purportedly told the victims that he could get the tickets at a discounted rate through a contact at the Singapore Sports Hub.
When the victims were denied entry into the National Stadium, they tried to contact Hafidz, but all attempts to do so were unsuccessful.
The 2019 edition of the ICC in Singapore featured European giants Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus and Inter Milan.
Hafidz is also accused of cheating others into paying for concert tickets for Irish rock band U2 in 2019, investments and sportswear, which included $6,030 worth of triathlon apparel and 52 pairs of shoes.
He is expected to be back in court on Oct 8. For cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
Hafidz was previously a member of the Singapore Swimming Association's communications team.
He left the association to assist the Schooling family with media queries following the swimmer's historic victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Hafidz had also worked part-time for Mr Schooling's swim school, known as Swim Schooling, but his employment was terminated after reports of the ICC ticket scam surfaced in July 2019. - THE STRAITS TIMES
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