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May 31, 2009
A tale of love & loss <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Khushwant Singh </td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
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Put on trial for murder, the 40-year-old odd-job worker was sentenced to death last Monday for hurling her off the parapet of the block's 13th floor. -- PHOTO: SPF
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IN THE early hours of July 1, 2007, factory worker Smaelmeeral Abdul Aziz, 32, lay dead at the foot of Block 181, Stirling Road. No one had witnessed her death, except her husband, Tharema Vejayan Govindasamy. Witnesses who saw him later recalled him walking away, barely looking at her.
Put on trial for murder, the 40-year-old odd-job worker was sentenced to death last Monday for hurling her off the parapet of the block's 13th floor.
Testimony during the 34-day trial laid bare a marriage wracked by jealousy, spousal violence, adultery and allegations of black magic. They were an unlikely pair, friends told the court. She was a bubbly extrovert, fond of clubbing and dancing. He was a quiet and homely person and rather old-fashioned.
They met in early 2002 and were married in June that same year. His friends were aghast at his choice of a 'party girl'. Her Muslim family boycotted the wedding as Tharema, a Hindu, refused to convert. But at first, the couple were so loving towards each other that it sometimes embarrassed their friends to watch them. Tharema's friend, Mr Abdul Razak P. Maudu, testified that there were occasions in clubs when other patrons and even the band would have their eyes glued on the couple. 'There was something electric about them then,' Mr Abdul Razak, 44, a delivery company manager, told The Straits Times. But it was not long before things started going wrong. After their son was born in 2003, Tharema lost his job as a security guard.
May 31, 2009
A tale of love & loss <!--10 min-->
<!-- headline one : start --> <!-- headline one : end --> <!-- Author --> <!-- show image if available --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr></tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr><td colspan="2" class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold">By Khushwant Singh </td></tr> <tr valign="bottom"> <td width="330">
</td> <td width="10">
Put on trial for murder, the 40-year-old odd-job worker was sentenced to death last Monday for hurling her off the parapet of the block's 13th floor. -- PHOTO: SPF
</td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
IN THE early hours of July 1, 2007, factory worker Smaelmeeral Abdul Aziz, 32, lay dead at the foot of Block 181, Stirling Road. No one had witnessed her death, except her husband, Tharema Vejayan Govindasamy. Witnesses who saw him later recalled him walking away, barely looking at her.
Put on trial for murder, the 40-year-old odd-job worker was sentenced to death last Monday for hurling her off the parapet of the block's 13th floor.
Testimony during the 34-day trial laid bare a marriage wracked by jealousy, spousal violence, adultery and allegations of black magic. They were an unlikely pair, friends told the court. She was a bubbly extrovert, fond of clubbing and dancing. He was a quiet and homely person and rather old-fashioned.
They met in early 2002 and were married in June that same year. His friends were aghast at his choice of a 'party girl'. Her Muslim family boycotted the wedding as Tharema, a Hindu, refused to convert. But at first, the couple were so loving towards each other that it sometimes embarrassed their friends to watch them. Tharema's friend, Mr Abdul Razak P. Maudu, testified that there were occasions in clubs when other patrons and even the band would have their eyes glued on the couple. 'There was something electric about them then,' Mr Abdul Razak, 44, a delivery company manager, told The Straits Times. But it was not long before things started going wrong. After their son was born in 2003, Tharema lost his job as a security guard.
