Nash Rawiller released from custody but still faces jail time

Australian jockey Nash Rawiller has been released from police custody almost 48 hours after being detained although it is still unclear whether or not he will face criminal charges for “tips for bets” offences.

Nash Rawiller could face a prison sentence similar to that of former champion and fellow Australian jockey Chris Munce who spent twenty months in jail for similar offences in 2007.

Hong Kong-based racing journalist Alan Aitken, from the South China Morning Post, told RSN that Nash Rawiller was detained by ICAC officials trying to return to Australia.

“Nobody’s really had contact with him,” Aitken said. “But if that’s the case then the ICAC has got involved and given that the jockey club has found him guilty on charges that mirror the kind of charges that Chris Munce was up against, I would think we could be looking at a very similar outcome.”

HKJC executive Andrew Harding said the club will make no apologies for the tough ban of fifteen months. “We have an unwavering resolve to ensure the highest standards of the integrity in Hong Kong racing,” he said.

A three-time Sydney premiership winner, 43-year-old Rawiller was running third in the HK jockeys’ championship.