Mr Ayakannu Marithamuthu was
murdered on 12 December 1984 at the Orchard Road Presbyterian
Church and his body cooked in curry before being disposed of. The
case became popularly known as the "Curry Murder".
Known as an unrepentant wife-beater, Ayakannu was a father of three
who worked as a live-in caretaker of holiday chalets in Changi. His
wife Naragatha made her living at the Orchard Road Presbyterian
Church. Her immediate family members who comprised of her three
brothers, mother and a sister-in-law were tired of Ayakannu's
violence. Determined to put an end to his violence, the family
hatched a deceitful plan.
On the day of the murder, Ayakannu was alleged to have had a prior
meeting with his three brothers-in-law. They had then taken the
deceased to the church where Naragatha worked. At the quarters of
the church, Ayakannu was repeatedly bludgeoned to death. To destroy
all traces of incriminating evidence, his body was then chopped up
into pieces. The body parts were then cooked into a curry which was
later tied in different plastic bags to be disposed all over the
island to allay suspicions.
Investigations only revealed that the victim suffered head injuries
from an iron rod in the kitchen of the quarters and was later
chopped to be cooked in a large aluminium pot. One of Naragatha's
three brothers was a butcher. Initially, Naragatha and her brothers
were charged in 1987 with murder. However, as there was
insufficient evidence against them, they were acquitted of their
charges the same year. The brothers were re-arrested on the same
day and unconditionally released in June 1991.
Apart from what investigations revealed, the prosecution was unable
to prove that it was indeed the family members who caused
Ayakannu's death. The cooking pot in which Ayakannu's body parts
were allegedly cooked could not be found, leaving no traces of the
savage act.