WANG Xin, the general manager of S-League football club Liaoning Guangyuan, is now a wanted man.

The 40-year-old Chinese national was to be charged on Wednesday on 25 counts of match-fixing, but failed to turn up in court.

The charges allege that he offered bribes to eight Liaoning players to fix the scoreline of six S-League matches last season.

Wang's arrest was announced by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) on Jan 7. Subsequently, the ex-Chinese national youth footballer applied to the High Court for permission to return to China to settle personal matters.

A club source said he wanted to attend to a lawsuit in Dalian to recover $300,000 worth of loans from another party. His request was granted, and he was freed on a bail of $80,000, which he put up himself.

When he did not turn up at court on Wednesday, a warrant for his arrest was issued. Despite his failure to show up, there was speculation that he would make a last-minute appearance at the courthouse by 5pm on Wednesday.

He did not - much to the disappointment of Steven Lee, the club's vice-chairman.

Read the full report in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.