Singaporean student Ram Tiwary has been convicted for murdering
his two flatmates in Sydney.
The verdict was delivered by a News South Wales Supreme Court jury
of six men and six women.
The jury had deliberated for four days before finding Tiwary guilty
of murdering Chow Lyang Tay and Poh Chuan Tan on September 15,
2003.
The three men were then students at the University of New South
Wales.
Tiwary had been accused of bludgeoning his two fellow Singaporeans
with a baseball bat.
The court was told he had bought a bat two days before the men were
killed.
Their bodies had been found at the flat they shared with Tiwary at
Kingsford in eastern Sydney.
The court was also told that Tiwary had owed one of his flatmates
five thousand Australian dollars.
Tiwary had pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
He had claimed that on the day the men were killed, he had been
woken by a commotion but had been too scared to leave his
room.
He did not react as the jury delivered its verdict.
His parents and brother, who were at the trial, also showed no
emotion although his mother clutched her husband's hand.
Tiwary has been remanded in custody to face sentencing submissions
on July 7. -CNA/ir