Former Lions cricketer Jean Symes sentenced for match-fixing

A 37-year-old former Bizhub Highveld Lions cricket player has been sentenced to four years in jail for match fixing.

Jean Symes appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 27 March 2023, where the sentence was handed down.

Symes faced a charge of corruption in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA).

Corruption

This comes after the Anti-Corruption officer at Cricket SA (CSA) received information from a whistleblower about alleged match-fixing planned for the 2015/2016 domestic Ram Slam T20 Cricket Challenge.

Hawks spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said Symes was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, wholly suspended for 5 years on condition that he is not convicted of committing a similar offence during the period of suspension.

“The matter was brought to the attention of the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Pretoria, and an investigation was conducted. The investigation revealed that a former Proteas cricket player, Mr Gulam Bodi, was approached by bookmakers from India to identify and recruit cricket players to participate in the scheme.

“Mr Bodi also approached Mr Symes, who accepted a gratification to the equivalent of $2500 US Dollars or approximately R30 000 to participate in the scheme,” Ramovha said.

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Match-fixing

Ramovha added that 37-year-old Pumelela Matshikwe was sentenced for the same offence by the same court Friday, 10 June 2022.

“This was after he admitted to have received a total of R50 000, enticement to participate in match fixing during the said tournament. He also received a five-year sentence.

“The investigation initiated led by CSA implicated the cricketers for their role in the conspiracy. They were banned for between seven and 20 years by International Cricket Council (ICC),” Ramovha said.

A former Proteas, Lions and Titans player, Bodi, was the first to be convicted in this case to five years imprisonment in October 2019, after he admitted to charges of attempting to fix matches in the same series.

Bodi acted as an intermediary for international betting syndicates, approaching certain players with a view to engaging in fixing activities during the competition.

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