Two-time SEA Games marathon champion Soh Rui Yong has sued Singapore Athletics for defamation, after he was not included in the selection of athletes who will see action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.
According to reports, Soh’s case is now in the High Court of Singapore, and he is seeking $500,000 in damages.
The case arose after Singapore’s national track and field body was not able to resolve a dispute which arose over his non-selection for the biennial meet.
Soh was supposed to be aiming for a third straight gold.
The case of Soh has now been brought up before the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).
In early September, SNOC has submitted its the line-up of athletes for the 2019 SEA Games, without Soh’s name in the list.
Soh, a two-time winner of the event in 2015 and 2017, is the first Singaporean men’s marathoner to achieve this feat.
“Mr. Soh was said to have not been added to the national roster for having ‘displayed conduct that falls short of the standards of attitude and behavior that the SNOC expects of and holds its athletes to,’ ” according to the SNOC statement.
His run-in with Singapore Athletics started back in Oct. 2019, when Soh reportedly questioned fellow marathoner Ashley Liew’s stories on his acts of sportsmanship during the 2015 SEA Games.
Liew later received an international award after being nominated by the SNOC.
In April, the SNOC handed Soh a legal letter asking him to retract his statements about Liew and the award.
Soh refused to comply, and SNOC later decided to “reserve its legal rights” in taking action, while Liew sought legal remedies.
Three months later, Soh took his case to social media, and on a Facebook post, accused the SNOC of bias.
Last month, Soh’s nomination for the national contingent to 2019 SEA Games in Manila was rejected by the SNOC.
The marathon champion also expressed his disappointment with Singapore Athletics, which did not defend him nor contest the SNOC’s decision.
Since his exclusion, Soh wrote two legal letters to the SNOC concerning the decision.
According to the SNOC, their President Tan Chuan-Jin had met with Singapore Athletics (SA) President Tang Weng Fei and Singapore Athletics Executive Director Malik Aljunied last month.
There were “instances of poor attitude and behavior that were taken into consideration,” also according to SNOC statement.