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Olympic gold medallist Joseph Schooling's prize money for his performance at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi has been put on hold, as reported by CNA and The Straits Times.
National freestyle swimmer Amanda Lim's SEA Games prize money has also been withheld.
This comes two weeks after the duo were were found to have consumed cannabis.
Schooling bagged two gold medals and one bronze at the 31st SEA Games, while Amanda won one gold and one silver.
According to ST, Schooling would have received S$13,750 for his performance, while Amanda would have gotten S$3,750.
When contacted by CNA, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) did not elaborate on its decision to withhold the athletes' prize money.
Did not attend award ceremony
On Wednesday (Sep. 14), SNOC held the Major Games Award Programme (MAP) awards presentation and Team Singapore appreciation dinner.
Both Schooling and Lim were not present at the ceremony, where 68 medallists were rewarded with up to S$860,000 — S$495,000 for the 31st SEA Games and S$365,000 for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Speaker of Parliament and President of SNOC Tan Chuan-Jin was present at the ceremony and was on stage to give a speech to the national athletes.
According to CNA, Tan took the opportunity to remind athletes that they have to "fulfil the criteria" set by SNOC and the respective National Sports Associations before they are allowed to compete at the Games.
Once they get selected, they will then have to commit to a team membership agreement which includes a "stipulated code of conduct".
Although Tan did not specifically refer to Schooling and Lim's cannabis use in his speech, he said, as reported by ST:
"As representatives of the country, we all have a part to play while we are at the Games. Our actions and behaviour do not merely have an impact on us, but also on the larger community.
Let's continue to stick to the goals, focus on your performance, look after your teammates and be as exemplary as you can."
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Top image via Sport Singapore/FB.