Second Taiwan baseball team sacks players over match fixing

Nov 20, 2009, 14:25 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's La New Bears baseball team sacked five more players over alleged match fixing Friday, as the illegal betting scandal snowballs and implicates more players.

In a statement, La Mew Bears said that after firing two players Thursday, it dismissed five more players Friday.

'If it is confirmed that they are guilty, we will file a lawsuit to seek damages (for lost games caused by match-fixing) from them,' the statement said.

Last month, Brother Elephants laid off four players who allegedly were involved in the same gangster-controlled match-fixing.

So far, out of the four teams of the Chinese-Taipei Professional Baseball League, three teams are being probed by prosecutors for match fixing.

This match-fixing scandal become public on October 26, and prosecutors have questioned more than a dozen players from the three teams, but no one has been indicted yet.

Under the league's rules, if a player has been indicted, he will be sacked. A player will also be sacked if he has been questioned by prosecutors but freed on bail, because questioning itself indicates he is linked to the scandal.

Press reports said the match-fixing began in May, with gangsters paying players up to 3 million Taiwan dollars (90,000 US dollars) for throwing games.

Sports analysts blame the constant match-fixing scandals in Taiwan baseball on a lack of law enforcement, indiscipline in baseball teams and low salaries for players.