SINGAPORE, Nov 23 — Singaporean fugitive Wilson Raj Perumal, once described as the world’s most prolific match-fixer, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail in Hungary for human trafficking, bringing an end to his decades-long run from the law.

The 60-year-old, known colloquially as the “kelong king,” had managed to avoid extradition to Singapore by serving as a state witness in European match-fixing trials after fleeing the city-state in 2010. 

But his luck finally ran out after he was convicted in May for his role in a human trafficking network.

A spokesperson for the chief prosecutor’s office in Hungary confirmed the conviction to The Straits Times, adding that Wilson Raj is appealing the sentence.

Wilson Raj was arrested in July 2020 in Debrecen, Hungary, for “assisting several persons to cross the state border for the purpose of financial gain.” 

At the time, he had been living in Hungary since 2012, where he was providing expert testimony in match-fixing cases.

Global trail of crime

After fleeing a five-year corrective training sentence in Singapore for assaulting a police officer, Wilson Raj embarked on a global crime spree.

He was first arrested in Finland in 2011 for travelling on a forged passport, a tip-off that led investigators to uncover his role in fixing more than 30 football matches in the country.

He avoided a long sentence by turning informant, providing information that implicated his alleged former boss, Singaporean businessman Dan Tan Seet Eng.

After serving just one year, he was handed over to Hungarian authorities to assist in their own match-fixing probes.

However, it later emerged that he had returned to his old ways, orchestrating match-fixing attempts in the Swedish football league in 2020.

In a 2021 letter from his Hungarian jail cell, Wilson Raj expressed his fear of being deported back to Singapore if convicted on the human trafficking charges.

“Do you know if I loose (sic) this case I will be deported back (to Singapore). I cannot afford to loose (sic) this case,” he wrote to a relative, while also asking his family for money to “sustain myself in prison.”

Wilson Raj fled Singapore in 2010 while on court bail pending an appeal for assaulting an auxiliary police officer. 

His subsequent activities shone a spotlight on a global match-fixing network run by Singaporeans. 

His associate, Dan Tan, was once described by Interpol as the leader of the world’s most notorious match-fixing syndicate and was detained in Singapore, while another associate, Chann Sankaran, was jailed in England.