Newz Forum: BOXING: Boxer gets 1-year suspended jail term for fixing match

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A criminal court on Thursday sentenced a well known kickboxer to one year suspended jail term and a fine of US$750 for throwing away a match for money.

Sanit Thiyamayta, popularly known by his professional name Samson, was arrested in August last year after the referee chased him out of the ring at the end of a five-round match on suspicion that it was fixed.

Sanit, 23, later confessed that he threw the match for 200,000 baht (US$4,800) because he needed the money to care for his ailing mother.

Sanit told reporters after his sentencing that he was grateful for the court's lenient verdict and would go back to the ring if promoters gave him a chance. He had faced a maximum of five years in prison and a 100,000 baht (US$2,400) fine.

The court said it was taking into account the fact that it was Sanit's first offense in giving him a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of 30,000 baht (US$750). This means Sanit won't have to spend time in jail unless he repeats the offense.

Muay Thai - Thai boxing, or kickboxing - is one of the nation's favorite sports and is particularly popular with gamblers.

Originally posted by Ocelot

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Sanit, 23, later confessed that he threw the match for 200,000 baht (US$4,800) because he needed the money to care for his ailing mother.

Sanit told reporters after his sentencing that he was grateful for the court's lenient verdict and would go back to the ring if promoters gave him a chance

He seemed like an alright guy. I think that under those circumstances, he should not have been thrown in jail.