Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday denied reports that Wei Seng “Paul Phua” has been convicted in Malaysia.

“According to police records, Paul Phua Wei Seng does not have past criminal record,” Zahid said in a written parliamentary response to Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.

In January, independent news outfit Malaysiakini reported that Phua was arrested in Sarawak Malaysia in 2004 and convicted for his involvement in an illegal betting scheme during the European Championship soccer tournament and was slapped with a hefty fine and left the country soon after his conviction.

The report also said that Phua was even barred from re-entering the country during the World Cup in 2008.