Three time cheater says he just wanted his finishing medal

The top local runner at the Singapore marathon has admitted he cheated and took a shortcut to the finish line.

Tam Chau Puh, a 43-year-old pastry chef crossed the finish line in 2:46 as the top Singaporean finisher, but later admitted he had stopped running after about 6K due to knee pain when race officials were baffled after missing him at checkpoints.

Three days after the race Tam admitted he had cheated.

“I was at Esplanade bus stop. There are two sides of the road, so I cut across and ran back to the finish line,” Tam told the Straits Times. “After resting at the bus stop, I made my way back to the finishing line. I saw some Kenyans run past, and I thought I saw some local runners run past too, so I assumed it was safe to return to the race. I didn’t expect to be the first Singaporean to finish.”

He said all he wanted was his finishing medal and t-shirt. He never expected to be the first Singaporean to finish.

This isn’t even his first time cheating his way through the marathon. Tam has a knee injury from being hit by a car when he was young that can prevent him from running long distances and he said in 2011 and 2012 he also dropped out before the 20K mark and took the medical van to the finish line, where he again tried to finish. He caught both of those years as well and disqualified.

He explained he didn’t feel like he was cheating. He signed up for the marathon and just wanted to finish.

“I never thought about going home midway. It would have been like giving up. I like running because I love nature, and I enjoy looking at the sights along the way. Winning never crossed my mind.”

The top local runner was award to Mok Ying Ren, who finished in 2:54. The top overall finisher was Kenya’s Luka Kipkemboi Chelimo in 2:14.