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National table tennis player Li Hu axed for repeated misconduct

Singapore's national table tennis player Li Hu. AP file photo
Singapore's national table tennis player Li Hu. AP file photo

National table tennis player Li Hu’s contract has been terminated after a hearing by an internal disciplinary committee on 24 Oct.

In a release on Monday evening, the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) said Li was caught bringing a female stranger into the STTA dormitory on several occasions.

Li, 28, was given repeated verbal warnings for flouting the dormitory rules. The female stranger was caught on CCTV visiting the dormitory late at night and leaving in the morning, “and on some occasions during working hours”, added the statement.

Li “displayed insolence, insubordination and continued to violate house rules despite verbal warnings”, said the statement.

Lim Soon Hock, Chairman of the disciplinary committee said, “The STTA does not tolerate indiscipline. Li Hu’s repeated breaches of the Code of Conduct is a cause of serious concern to the STTA.  Despite being verbally warned on several occasions, Li Hu continued to breach the dormitory and house rules. His insubordination is unacceptable and is not tolerated. It was a unanimous decision by the Disciplinary Committee to early terminate Li Hu’s contract for his repeated code of conduct breaches.”

Separately, Li and his mother are assisting the the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in investigations over an alleged attempted bribery incident.

The investigation happened five days after he signed a resignation letter drafted for him by the STTA, reported The Straits Times.

The contract termination and CPIB investigation are not related, and the termination is related only to Li’s misconduct.

A Hubei native, Li arrived in Singapore in 2010 and became a citizen in 2011. He achieved a career-high world ranking of 26 and is currently ranked world number 58.

In 2014, he and doubles partner Gao Ning won a bronze at the Asian Games and a gold at the Commonwealth Games.

The Singapore men did not qualify for the team event for the Rio Olympics in August.