Kuala Lumpur: The two Malaysian professional badminton players Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Tan Chun Seang who were slapped with hefty fine by Badminton World Federation (BWF) with US$25,000 and US$15,000 respectively, for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal, learned that they were not required to pay the fines until the appeal process has been completed.
On Monday, Zulkiffli sent an official letter asking the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to ask BAM to help him pay the fine before he could file for appeal.
BAM president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria then said the organization communicated with BWF , and the world’s badminton governing body agreed that Zulfadli Zulkiffli and Tan Chun Seang could continue with their appeal without paying the fine.
“BWF has informed us that both players could start their appeal process without paying the fine. The penalties only need to be paid after the appeal process is completed.
“So, Zulfadli or Chun Seang and their lawyers can start their appeal process now. I have signed a letter today to inform Zulfadli,” said Norza.
“BAM does not offer any lawyers to represent Zulfadli, but we will send one to attend the hearing session during the appeal. It is to ensure the hearing session is fair. In this case, Zulfadli has to appoint his own lawyer.
“Zulfadli had claimed that he did not received a fair hearing by BWF in February, so we are going to give him the chance to make sure he receive a fair trial,” added Norza.
Zulfadli who is also a former world junior champion and Asian junior champion held a press conference last Friday and said that BWF had pronounced him guilty of match-fixing without solid evidence.
