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Sunday, September 11, 2005
Pinay maid nabbed for grisly murder
SINGAPORE -- A Filipina domestic helper has been arrested and will be charged with murder after the chopped-up body of another foreign domestic worker was discovered stuffed into bags on Singapore's main shopping strip and at a popular park, police said Saturday.
The 29-year-old Filipina, whose identity cannot be revealed until she is charged in court, was arrested at her employer's flat, where a chopper and red plastic bags were seized, within 12 hours of the remains' discovery on Friday.
Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen F. Anota said the suspect will be assigned two lawyers by the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
The Ambassador informed the Department of Foreign Affairs here that the Embassy has arranged for the services of a lawyer to ensure the rights of the suspect under Singapore laws are properly recognized and respected.
On Friday, a cleaner found a blue sports bag containing a woman's head, arms and legs near a subway station in the heart of Orchard Road, the city-state's main shopping street and one of its busiest thoroughfares, a police statement said.
The head was wrapped in a red plastic bag, while the limbs were placed in two black trash bags.
A member of the public found the second gruesome bag containing a woman's torso later the same day at MacRitchie Reservoir--a spot popular with joggers and birdwatchers--the statement said.
Police believed the body parts from the two bags were likely from the same woman.
Police declined to immediately identify the 29-year-old suspect or the murder victim, but said the two likely knew each other.
Police spokeswoman Karen Chen said it would be inappropriate to reveal the name of the 26-year-old victim as police were currently working with the Philippine Embassy to inform the woman's next of kin.
The suspect, who was arrested Saturday, will be charged with murder in court on Sunday, the police statement said.
Police seized red plastic bags and a cleaver from the suspect's employer's flat, the statement said.
The case comes 10 years after a Filipina maid, Flor Contemplacion, was hanged in Singapore for murdering another Filipina maid and a four-year-old Singaporean boy.
The execution triggered a bitter diplomatic row between the Philippines and Singapore.
About 140,000 foreign maids are employed in Singapore, most from the Philippines and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said Saturday that labor attaché Miriam Cuasay had met with the suspect in Singapore and that the Philippine government was looking into extending legal aid to her.
Santo Tomas declined to provide the identities of the suspect and victim, saying their families had not yet been informed.
She also declined to mention a possible motive.
On Sept. 5, two young Indonesian maids narrowly escaped the death sentence after being found guilty of homicide for killing their Singaporean employer, but they were handed lengthy jail terms.
In June, a 50-year-old Singaporean man, Leong Siew Chor, was charged with murdering his colleague and alleged mistress, 22-year-old Chinese national Liu Hong Mei, whose body was chopped up and scattered in a river. (AP/AFP/Sunnex)
(September 11, 2005 issue)
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