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Cape Town - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have welcomed the 5-year sentence handed down to former Protea player Gulam Bodi for match-fixing.
Bodi was sentenced by the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria on Friday, October 18.
In a statement released to the media, the NPA said: "This ruling serves to send a message of no tolerance against match-fixing and betting/gambling. Evidence before court has shown that, in the game of cricket it appears as if the major “bookies” are in India, and they run an almost criminal enterprise to influence games and/or incidents during games. The sentence will therefore go a long way in discouraging similarly inclined individuals within the sporting fraternity, to commit similar crimes."
Bodi was found guilty of eight counts of corruption and could have received a 15-year sentence on each count.
The court, however, found that there were substantial and compelling circumstances justifying a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence, amongst others, the fact that he has shown remorse and pleaded guilty.
Bodi was alledged to have approached a number of local players and offered them money to play perform in a predetermined manner at certain matches during the T20 Ram Slam tournament. Bodi, and a number of other players were investigated with Bodi receiving a 20-year ban from Cricket South Africa. Other investigations are ongoing.
Bodi will appeal the 5-year sentence handed down to him.
- Compiled by Craig Taylor
