The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) yesterday issued a statement on its official Web site in response to a message posted by dmedia T-Rex general manager Shih Chin-hsin (施建新) on an Internet bulletin board on Wednesday claiming that professional teams will take money to throw games.
In the statement, CPBL president Chao Shou-po (趙守博) said that if the allegations were true, dmedia should submit evidence to the league.
The CPBL in turn would immediately transfer any evidence to prosecutors for further investigation.
Chao said the CPBL and its member teams have worked hard to eliminate gambling, prevent organized crime from influencing games and put an end to teams throwing games.
He also said he had called on the government to take a tough approach and help guarantee a healthy competitive environment for professional baseball.
Chao expressed regret that Shih would air such rumors, adding that the T-Rex general manager would be dealt with according to CPBL regulations.
He also called on anyone involved in baseball in Taiwan to be sure that they had evidence to back up such claims.
Chao stressed that it was inappropriate to publicly discuss such rumors because it could have a negative impact on the development of professional baseball.
He also said such behavior could disappoint fans and mislead the public.