Sawt Falasteen - Thai eSports players sentenced over SEA Games cheating scandal

Thai gamers Naphat Warasin and Kong Sutprom "jeopardised the credibility of the country", a court statement said.

Naphat, 29, was expelled from the Games in December for "using unauthorised third-party software or hardware modification" during the Arena of Valor competition, a letter from a SEA Games delegate said at the time.

The 23-year-old Kong was convicted for attempting to play for Naphat remotely after she gave him access to her match, local media reported.

Police arrested the pair on charges of violating the country's computer crime law last month after raiding their homes.

The Bangkok municipal court initially handed each of them a six-month sentence on Tuesday but reduced the terms to three months due to their cooperation with authorities.

The court granted them bail and ordered each to pay a fine of 24,000 baht ($740), local media said.

Under Thai law, offenders sentenced to three months or less may serve their term in a detention centre instead of prison.

ESports, or competitive video game tournaments, was included in the SEA Games for the first time in 2019.

In December the event included competitions in four categories: FC Online, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free Fire and Arena of Valor, a multiplayer online battle game.

The SEA Games drew thousands of athletes from across the region to Thailand for competition in events ranging from football and fencing to skateboarding and combat sports.

Host Thailand topped the medal table with 233 gold medals, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam.

Q.Bulbul--SF-PST