National marathoner Soh Rui Yong accuses SNOC of bias
National marathoner Soh Rui Yong has accused the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) of bias in the ongoing feud between him and fellow runner Ashley Liew.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Soh, a two-time SEA Games champion, said the SNOC "failed to stay neutral and credible in the fact-finding process".
The dispute stems back to the SEA Games marathon in June 2015, where Liew reportedly slowed down to let his opponents catch up, after realising he gained a 50m lead because 12 runners missed a turn and took the wrong route. Soh won the race, while Liew finished eighth.
Liew was given a special award for sportsmanship by the SNOC and the Pierre de Coubertin World Fair Play Trophy by the International Fair Play Committee the year after.
But, last October, Soh disputed Liew's account of events.
On April 9, Liew, 32, issued a cease-and-desist letter through his lawyer Mark Teng of That.Legal LLC, but Soh, 27, refused to meet the demands.
He also spurned a prior letter to publicly retract his views issued by SNOC's lawyers from Rajah & Tann on April 1.
On Tuesday, Liew requested a court order to restrain Soh from making any further statements and to compel him to remove the statements that have already been published.
Liew said in a media release: "In light of the foregoing, I feel that I have no choice but to ask the Court to vindicate my reputation."
In his Facebook post yesterday, Soh said: "Happy that this is going to court. May the truth finally see the light of day."
When contacted, an SNOC spokesman said: "We regret to note the derogatory and baseless remarks made by Soh, and fully reserve our legal rights against him.
"Given that the remarks are made in connection with a matter that is now pending before the State Courts, it would not be appropriate for the SNOC to provide our comments on the matter at this time."
Last night, Soh put up another post, inviting the SNOC to address the issues.
- ADEENA NAGIB
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