murder in Macritchie Reservior

BabyLover SG

Sept 11, 2005
Victim: Filipino maid. Suspect: Filipino maid

Suspect arrested at condo where she works

Tanya Fong in Singapore
Luz Baguioro in Manila

POLICE AT THE ORCHARD MRT AREA where the victim's head and limbs were found in a bag. -- LIANHE ZAOBAO

ONE is 29 years old. The other is said to be 26. Both are believed to have come from the same region in the Philippines. Both worked here as maids and apparently knew each other.

Now, the older woman is accused of murdering her compatriot.

Plump, with a tanned complexion and rarely seen without a smile, she is to be charged today for murder in a special court sitting. She cannot be named until after she is charged.

She was arrested just after midnight yesterday, some 12 hours after several body parts of a woman were found in two bags - one near Orchard MRT station and the other in MacRitchie Reservoir.

At about 12.40am, she was seen taken away in handcuffs from her employer's eighth-floor apartment at the SunGlade condominium in Serangoon Avenue 2.

An 18cm cleaver in a red plastic bag was also taken from the flat, where the murder is believed to have taken place.

Diplomatic sources said she is married with two children and comes from the northern region of the Philippines, the same area where the victim was from.

While no one could shed any light on their relationship, it is believed the accused has been working in Singapore for several years. Her employers are an Indian couple in their 30s, who had moved into the rented apartment in June this year.

Apparently, it was a clue in one of the bags that provided the breakthrough that led to the swift arrest, Shin Min Daily News reported yesterday. The Chinese-language evening newspaper also said the body parts had been cleaned before they were disposed of, as there was little blood on them.

THE SUNGLADE CONDOMINIUM in Serangoon Avenue 2 where the murder is believed to have taken place. Neighbours say the suspect was "friendly". -- CHEW SENG KIM

Stunned residents at SunGlade said yesterday they could not believe a murder could have taken place at their 18-month-old condo with eight high-rise blocks.

Many have seen the suspect. About 1.65m tall, she has long black hair that goes down her back, just like that of the victim.

Said a neighbour who lives on the same floor: 'She always smiles back when I see her sweeping the corridor in the morning. Once in a while she would bring two of her friends home. They have long hair and they always come about 8pm.'

Her employers, who are permanent residents here, have no children and are rarely seen by their neighbours.

Said a resident on another floor who spoke on condition of anonymity: 'I seldom see the couple but when I do, they are very friendly.

'The man travels quite a bit I think, because I see him going out sometimes with a trolley bag and he would return after many days.'

The couple were not home all of yesterday. Neighbours told The Sunday Times that they had not heard or seen anything suspicious.

One told the police, who knocked on her door just after the arrest, that she did not hear any screams coming from the apartment.

Both the police and officials of the Philippine Embassy declined to disclose the identity of the victim, as her next-of-kin in Philippines has yet to be contacted.

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sbst275 SG

So, without PAP, what would our lives be like, can you tell me?

iveco SG

We are strong enough to cope with a change of regime. It has been forty years since independence. Surely it is a ripe time for a brand new ruling party to come about. Rolling Eyes

laurence82 SG

how come we got so political?

we have got data that shows crime is rising at alarming rate?

besides, these grisly murders are done from one known friend to another, not murder and rape of a stranger in a public carpark

how the police going to know that your next best fren is plotting to kill u, or to fortune-tell that your mistress is going to have PMS today and slash u with the chopper?

sheesh...

BabyLover SG

Sept 12, 2005
ORCHARD ROAD BODY-PARTS MURDER
Maid charged over killing of 'close friend'

By Tanya Fong

THE chubby, baby-faced mother of two sat in the dock, head hung low and tears in her eyes. She hardly looked like someone who could kill a friend, chop her into pieces and dump her body parts in two prominent public places.

NO PLEA, CASE ADJOURNED: Aguilar arriving in court yesterday. No plea was taken yesterday, and the case has been adjourned until Friday, while police carry out further investigations. -- JOYCE FANG

Dressed in a baby-blue sweater, jeans and white sandals, 29-year-old Filipina Guen Garlejo Aguilar appeared calm in court yesterday, as she was charged with murdering Filipino maid Jane Parangan La Puebla.

The killing allegedly took place in the home of Aguilar's employer in an eighth-floor unit of Block 9, SunGlade Condominium, Serangoon Avenue 2.

The time of death cannot be confirmed, but the 26-year-old is believed to have been killed some time after 10am on Wednesday.

Aguilar was arrested at about 12.40am on Saturday, less than 12 hours after Ms Puebla's body parts were found.

Her severed head, arms and legs were discovered in red plastic bags stuffed in a sports bag at Orchard MRT station at 1.45pm on Friday.

Her torso - dressed in printed undergarments - was found in a trolley bag on a MacRitchie Reservoir footpath at about 6.10pm.

The suspect and the victim both come from the northern Philippines, according to Miss Maria Isleta, Consul-General of the Philippines Embassy here, who was in court for yesterday's special sitting.

According to friends of the two maids, they had been close friends.

Miss Isleta said Ms Puebla's family has been informed of her death. She was married with a 10-year-old child.

No plea was taken from Aguilar yesterday, and the police Special Investigation Section applied to the court to have her remanded for one week while further investigations are carried out.

Lawyers Manoj Nandani and Ranvir Kumar Singh, who have been instructed by the Philippines Embassy to represent Aguilar, asked the court to grant them access to speak to her.

Police prosecutor Raj Kishore Rai objected, saying police should be allowed to complete their investigations before Aguilar is allowed to consult her lawyers.

Magistrate Carolyn Woo agreed and ordered her to be remanded for one more week before she is allowed access to counsel.

The case has been adjourned until Friday.

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