British double murder suspect McCrea to escape death
penalty
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: British double murder suspect Michael McCrea will escape
the gallows.
Prosecutors have offered to reduce the murder charges to culpable
homicide.
McCrea is accused of strangling his driver and the driver's
girlfriend in 2002.
The double murder case enters its home stretch with the prosecution
offering to reduce the 2 murder charges in response to
representations made by the defence in April.
46-year-old McCrea is alleged to have killed his driver, Kho Nai
Guan, and the driver's girlfriend, Lan Ya Ming, in his
apartment.
Their decomposed bodies were later found in an abandoned car at a
carpark in Orchard Towers.
This reduction to 2 lesser charges of culpable homicide not
amounting to murder means McCrea will escape the death
penalty.
If convicted under the revised charge, McCrea could face up to 10
years jail or a fine, or both.
Defence lawyer Kelvin Lim told Channel NewsAsia that his client is
considering the offer.
The defence lawyer is expecting to get a written confirmation of
acceptance from McCrea on Monday.
If this happens, then the 5-day trial that is originally set to
start on June 26th will not proceed, and he will write to the
authorities to fix a date for his client to plead guilty to the
reduced charges.
The Court will also take into consideration one of two charges for
disposal of evidence relating to the crime.
McCrea's 23-year-old girlfriend then, Audrey Ong, was jailed for 12
years in 2003 after she admitted to helping McCrea dispose of the
bodies. - CNA /dt
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