Pitcher guilty of fixing games

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Pitcher guilty of fixing games

Published: 26 Aug. 2016, 20:14

A South Korean baseball player was convicted of match-fixing on Friday and handed a suspended two-year prison term for deliberately allowing or attempting to allow walks in four games last season.

A broker involved in the scheme was sentenced to one year in prison, according to Cho Janghyun, spokesman for the Changwon District Court in southeastern South Korea.

Lee Tae Yang, a starter for the NC Dinos in the Korea Baseball Organization, was indicted in July and accused of taking 20 million won ($17,940) from the broker in return for fixing the games.

Prosecutors also indicted another player, Moon Woo-ram, for receiving 10 million won in cash and gifts from the broker in exchange for connecting him with Lee. Moon plays in the second-tier Korean league.

The 23-year-old Lee enjoyed a breakout season for the Dinos in 2015, going 10-5 as a starter to help the team reach the playoffs. He was also part of the South Korean team that won the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s inaugural Premier 12 tournament held in Taiwan and Japan in November.

Lee’s case is the latest in a string of match-fixing scandals that has plagued South Korea’s professional baseball, soccer, basketball and other sports leagues and led to convictions and lifetime bans for a number of players and coaches.

AP