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Sports agent accused of cheating over football match tickets, investments

Mohamed Hafidz Ja'afar, Joseph Schooling' ex-spokesperson. (PHOTO: Zulhikam Zulkefle)
Mohamed Hafidz Ja'afar, Joseph Schooling' ex-spokesperson. (PHOTO: Zulhikam Zulkefle)

SINGAPORE — A man who was previously engaged by Singapore's national swimmer Joseph Schooling to handle the Olympic gold medalist's marketing and communications has been charged with cheating people over tickets to a football match and investments.

Mohamed Hafidz Ja'afar, 38, was handed 21 charges of cheating on 27 August and is expected to plead guilty on 8 October. The sums allegedly cheated amount to around $87,300.

Thirteen of his charges relate to cheating individuals into transferring him money for the purpose of purchasing International Champion Cup (ICC) tickets between March and June 2019.

The ICC tournament held in Singapore in 2019 involved four top European football clubs: Manchester United, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Tottenham Hotspur. The specific charge refers to the match between Manchester United and Inter Milan, according to media reports.

The remaining charges accuse Hafidz of cheating others of investment monies, payments for tickets of a concert by Irish rock band U2, and payments for apparels including 52 pairs of shoes.

The offences allegedly occurred from 2017 to 2019 and involved 21 complainants.

Hafidz, a sports agent, had been terminated from Schooling’s swim school, Swim Schooling, on 19 July 2019, where he had been working on a part-time basis, according to reports.

The former Singapore Swimming Association marketing and communications director was appointed by Schooling’s family on 13 September 2016 after the swimmer won a gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

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