http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20080816/tap-241-stirling-road-murder-bomoh-black-231650b.html
Stirling Road Murder: Of a bomoh and black magic
Stirling Road Murder: Of a bomoh and black magic
<CITE class=auth></CITE>
<CITE class=auth>Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, August 16</CITE>
SINGAPORE: The man accused of murdering his wife was a victim of black magic, his defence lawyers claimed yesterday.
Madam Hametah Abdul Aziz, the accused’s estranged sister—in—law, had allegedly sought the help of a bomoh (witch doctor) to break up Mr Tharema Vejayan Govindasamy’s marriage.
She did this after hearing her sister’s frequent complaints about money woes, beatings by Mr Tharema and his unfaithful nature, the lawyers told the court.
Lawyer S Radakrishnan, assigned by the State to represent Mr Tharema, said Mdm Hametah, 41, had also been irritated by the fact that Mdm Smaemeeral Abdul Aziz, 32, always chose to return to her husband’s side eventually and wanted to end their relationship.
Mdm Smaemeeral’s bloody body (picture, right) was found at the foot of an HDB block in Stirling Road in the morning of July 1 last year.
Witnesses saw Mr Tharema, 39, leaving the block soon after. A trail of blood belonging to Mdm Smaemeeral was also found leading from a nearby bus—stop to the lift lobby (picture, left) of Block 181, and then up to the 13th floor.
On Day 4 of the murder trial yesterday, Mr Radakrishnan repeatedly accused Mdm Hametah and her husband, Mr Abdul Jabbar Mohamed Ahmed, 44, of lying in court to portray Mr Tharema as a demon.
They did so in order to get his client hanged, the lawyer said, so that they could get custody of Mdm Smaemeeral’s two young children.
"You want to see him hanged at any cost, no matter what," he said.
As staunch Muslims, the couple disliked Mr Tharema because he had refused to convert to Islam and even brought up his children as Hindus, Mr Radakrishnan said.
Mdm Hametah and her husband rejected the defence lawyer’s accusations.
All they did, said Mr Abdul Jabbar, was pray for Mdm Smaemeeral at the mosque.
They did not know any bomoh, nor believed in black magic, the production supervisor added.
Mr Abdul Jabbar and his wife had approached the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to enquire about the custody of Mdm Smaemeeral’s children because they felt the five—year—old boy and two—year—old girl "should not be orphaned".
Another witness, Mr Mohamed Abdul Kader Sahib Mohamed Kassim, 54, said Mdm Smaemeeral, his niece, was staying at his house in Strathmore Avenue from June 20 last year up till her death.
The night before her death, she had gone out to celebrate a close friend’s birthday, the dispatch clerk said.
Mdm Smaemeeral and Mr Tharema were both out drinking at different pubs that night.
At about 4am, she called a family friend to help her at Queenstown MRT station because she felt tipsy. The friend drove Mr Tharema there and then left.
The trial continues next month.
Mr Tharema faces the death penalty if he is found guilty of her murder. — TODAY/fa
Stirling Road Murder: Of a bomoh and black magic
Stirling Road Murder: Of a bomoh and black magic
<CITE class=auth></CITE>
<CITE class=auth>Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, August 16</CITE>
SINGAPORE: The man accused of murdering his wife was a victim of black magic, his defence lawyers claimed yesterday.
Madam Hametah Abdul Aziz, the accused’s estranged sister—in—law, had allegedly sought the help of a bomoh (witch doctor) to break up Mr Tharema Vejayan Govindasamy’s marriage.
She did this after hearing her sister’s frequent complaints about money woes, beatings by Mr Tharema and his unfaithful nature, the lawyers told the court.
Lawyer S Radakrishnan, assigned by the State to represent Mr Tharema, said Mdm Hametah, 41, had also been irritated by the fact that Mdm Smaemeeral Abdul Aziz, 32, always chose to return to her husband’s side eventually and wanted to end their relationship.
Mdm Smaemeeral’s bloody body (picture, right) was found at the foot of an HDB block in Stirling Road in the morning of July 1 last year.
Witnesses saw Mr Tharema, 39, leaving the block soon after. A trail of blood belonging to Mdm Smaemeeral was also found leading from a nearby bus—stop to the lift lobby (picture, left) of Block 181, and then up to the 13th floor.
On Day 4 of the murder trial yesterday, Mr Radakrishnan repeatedly accused Mdm Hametah and her husband, Mr Abdul Jabbar Mohamed Ahmed, 44, of lying in court to portray Mr Tharema as a demon.
They did so in order to get his client hanged, the lawyer said, so that they could get custody of Mdm Smaemeeral’s two young children.
"You want to see him hanged at any cost, no matter what," he said.
As staunch Muslims, the couple disliked Mr Tharema because he had refused to convert to Islam and even brought up his children as Hindus, Mr Radakrishnan said.
Mdm Hametah and her husband rejected the defence lawyer’s accusations.
All they did, said Mr Abdul Jabbar, was pray for Mdm Smaemeeral at the mosque.
They did not know any bomoh, nor believed in black magic, the production supervisor added.
Mr Abdul Jabbar and his wife had approached the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports to enquire about the custody of Mdm Smaemeeral’s children because they felt the five—year—old boy and two—year—old girl "should not be orphaned".
Another witness, Mr Mohamed Abdul Kader Sahib Mohamed Kassim, 54, said Mdm Smaemeeral, his niece, was staying at his house in Strathmore Avenue from June 20 last year up till her death.
The night before her death, she had gone out to celebrate a close friend’s birthday, the dispatch clerk said.
Mdm Smaemeeral and Mr Tharema were both out drinking at different pubs that night.
At about 4am, she called a family friend to help her at Queenstown MRT station because she felt tipsy. The friend drove Mr Tharema there and then left.
The trial continues next month.
Mr Tharema faces the death penalty if he is found guilty of her murder. — TODAY/fa
:(
