Update on Viz Holland Murder - 9 Jan 2010

Starting the New Year with such news does not reflect, in any way, my mordid inclinations :)

Here's the latest news on the murder case, dated 9 Jan 2010. Note that the judgment was made on "circumstantial evidence".



Bangladeshi to hang for killing lover
09 Jan 2010
Source: The Straits Times

A construction worker has been sentenced to hang for the murder of his Indonesian lover.

Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus, 35, a Bangladeshi, looked shocked on hearing the guilty verdict yesterday, which came almost a year after his 20-day trial in February and March last year.

In his written judgment, High Court judge Kan Ting Chiu noted that the case against Kamrul rested on circumstantial evidence.

But the circumstantial evidence was strong and was corroborated by Kamrul’s lies to the police and the inference drawn from his choice to remain silent when he was called on to give his defence, said Justice Kan.
“All this leads inevitably and inexorably to the conclusion that the accused had strangled the deceased,” said the judge.

On Dec 16, 2007, the naked body of Kamrul’s on-off girlfriend, Ms Yulia Afriyanti, 25, who worked here as a maid, was found in a cardboard box in a unit of an condominium under construction in Queensway. Kamrul was working at the construction site at the time.

Three days later, Kamrul was arrested. Ms Yulia’s mobile phone, watch and jewellery were found in his locker. Her torn work permit was found in his trousers pocket.

DNA tests indicated he had sex with her before her death; his fingerprints were found at the scene; and a piece of chewing gum found in the unit also had his DNA on it.

In police statements, Kamrul said Ms Yulia had phoned him at 4.30am, telling him to meet her at the site, but records showed that no such call was made from Ms Yulia’s phone.

He said that while searching for her, he found a box and a body was inside. He said he believed it was Ms Yulia but could not be sure, so he closed the box and left. He said he did not report the grisly find as he was afraid. During the trial, he chose not to testify.

While Kamrul did not provide answers, Justice Kan said a possible motive for the killing was to cover up his lie to Ms Yulia that his mother was coming to Singapore to discuss their wedding plans.

During the trial, it emerged that Ms Yulia got to know Kamrul at a party here in 2005 and they became lovers.
They planned to marry in October 2007 but she broke up with him after finding out he was married with two children.

Ms Yulia then began seeing a Filipino construction worker, but later resumed her relationship with Kamrul and renewed plans to marry him.

Source: The New Paper

During his murder trial last year, construction worker Kamrul Hasan Abdul Quddus, 35, chose to keep silent and not testify in his own defence.

But the evidence and other testimony pointed to one conclusion – he was guilty of killing his girlfriend, Miss Yulia Afriyanti, 25, on 16 Dec 2007. (Seereport below.)

Yesterday, Justice Kan Ting Chiu convicted him of Miss Yulia’s murder and sentenced him to death.

In his judgment, he said that he based his decision on the evidence provided, Kamrul Hasan’s lies in his police statements and his decision to keep silent.

He referred to evidence on how Kamrul Hasan did not tell police about Miss Yulia’s body and the box it was in until his arrest despite having been present when her body was found earlier.

Justice Kan said this evidence, though circumstantial, led to the inference that he had killed Miss Yulia.
Other damning evidence included the fact that her belongings, including her work permit, were found in his locker or in his possession.

Justice Kan then pointed out several lies that he had made in his police statements. Among them:
He said he and Miss Yulia had never considered getting married, but evidence from Miss Yulia’s friends and family showed otherwise;
When the police found a watch in his locker, he told them that he had bought it for his wife. Witnesses said the watch belonged to Miss Yulia;
He said he took Miss Yulia’s handphone with him when they separated after meeting on the night of 15Dec 2007.
But records showed that calls were made between their phones between 10.50pm and 2.10am the next day. That showed both handphones could not have been with him;
He said Miss Yulia called him at about 4.30am on 16 Dec 2007, but there was no record of such a call.

Justice Kan said the lies he referred to were refuted by clear evidence and were related to important points in the investigation like Kamrul Hasan’s relationship with Miss Yulia and his whereabouts on 15 and 16 Dec 2007.

He added that Kamrul Hasan lied to the police because he knew he would be linked to Miss Yulia’s death if he had told the truth.

Justice Kan said it could be inferred that Kamrul Hasan had planned to meet Miss Yulia on the night of 15 Dec 2007 on the pretext that they were going to the airport to meet his mother and brother.

He wrote: “Instead of going to the airport, however, the accused strangled and had sex with the deceased (in either order), removed and kept her watch, bracelet, chain and pendant, and ring and tore and kept her work permit.

“He then placed her naked body into the box and left the scene.”

Justice Kan said it could be inferred that Kamrul Hasan decided not to give his own evidence as he could not satisfactorily explain what he had said in his police statements, including thelies.

Kamrul Hasan’s lawyers, Mr Ang Sin Teck and Mr Rajan Supramaniam, said their client will appeal against the conviction and sentence.

When The New Paper told Madam Yulismawati, Miss Yulia’s mother, of the judgment, she said that she was hearing the news for the first time.

She said in Bahasa Indonesia: “I am glad that justice is done. But it will not bring Yulia back.”

Tags: viz@holland, viz holland, viz @ holland, singapore, queensway, condo, viz holland murder, murder