Taipei - Taiwan's pool champion Wu Chia-ching, unhappy about low pay and no guarantee of a job after retirement, plans to become a Singapore citizen and play for Singapore.

Wu, 20, decided to quit Taiwan after his salary demands were not met by Taiwan sports officials and the Chinese-Taipei Billiard Association stripped him of the right to play for Taiwan.

Taiwan media said Wu's decision to change sides would hurt the moral of Taiwan athletes who were not getting enough help from the state in training and attending overseas competitions.

But sports officials said they were trying their best to improve conditions for players and that Wu's demands were too high.

Wu Chia-ching's father, Wu Chen-chung, said Chia-ching has not yet applied for citizenship of Singapore or signed a contract with Singapore's billiard association.

"The procedure for applying for Singaporean citizenship takes six months," he said told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by phone.

"Once Chia-ching has made the deal with Singapore's's billiard association, I think the Signapore association will hold a news conference to announce it."

But Singapore's billiard association, Cuesports Singapore, refused to confirm negotiations with Wu.

"These are all rumours. We don't comment on speculation," Ronnie Chua, honorary secretary of Cuesports Singapore, told dpa.

Wu Chia-ching flew to Singapore Wednesday for a vacation to forget about the frustrations caused by his pay raise demand, his father said. He will return to Taiwan next week.

Wu began to play pool at the age of 10. In 2005, he won the WPA Men's World Nine-Ball Championship and the WPA Men's Eight-Ball Championship, becoming at 16 the youngest player to win the title.

He won the 2007 All Japan Championship and came second in the 2008 World Ten-Ball Championship.

According to Wu Chia-ching's father, Singapore's billiard officials first approached Chia-ching in 2005 after he had won the world championships.

"The contacts stopped later because Singapore's billiard association changed its director, but resumed last year," he said.

Singapore offered the equivalent of 4.6 million Taiwan dollars (130,000 US dollars) per year, including a coach and travel expenses, and promised to hire him as a coach on the national team after he has stopped competing.

"What attracts us most is Singapore's environment for athletes and the guaranteed job after his retirement from playing," his father said.

Wu Chia-ching met Tu Young-hui, executive director of the Chinese-Taipei Billiard Association on February 19, and called on sports minister Tai Hsia-ling on February 20, to demand a pay package matching Singapore's offer.

But the highest pay Taiwan could give Wu is 600,000 Taiwan dollars (17,000 US dollars).

Tai said Taiwan should increase Wu's pay, but cannot meet his request because it it too high.

"If we meet his request, it will be unfair to other players," she told reporters.

After Wu announced his decision to play for Singapore, the Chinese-Taipei Billiard Association barred Wu from playing an exhibition match in Guangzhou, deepening the rift between the Wu family and the association.

Chia-ching last year earned 2.5 million Taiwan dollars (70,000 US dollars) in prize money in Taiwan and abroad.

But a pool player gets no pay unless he or she has been picked for training for the Asian Games. During training, the player can receive a salary of 25,000 Taiwan dollars
(700 US dollars) a month.

Many Taiwan athletes also find themselves out of work once they have stopped competing. (dpa)