Man arrested in Afro Asia Building fire and death
By Favian Ng, channelnewsasia.com | Posted: 11 August 2011 1239 hrs
Police investigating the fire at Afro Asia Building (photo by Favian Ng)
Fire at a 6th floor unit of Afro Asia Building at Robinson Road.
A woman died in a fire which broke out at Afro Asia Building at Robinson Road on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Favian Ng)
SINGAPORE: Police arrested a 66-year-old Singaporean man in connection with the dead body found in a unit of Afro Asia Building which caught fire on Wednesday morning.
The badly burnt body is believed to be that of a woman, named Madam Loh Foong Neng.
Working on leads established through intensive investigations, the police conducted an operation to trace the suspect.
The Indian man was arrested at about 10:50pm on Wednesday in Jurong and Channel NewsAsia understands the suspect is not a relative of the deceased.
The suspect will be charged in court on Friday with murder, which carries the death penalty.
The fire, which started at about 10am on Wednesday, is believed to have broken out at a small law firm, B Rengarajoo & Associates.
It is owned by a husband-and-wife team and it is believed that the dead body found was that of the wife.
The body was found in the small office by fire-fighters after the blaze was put out.
People working at Afro Asia Building who returned on Thursday morning to retrieve documents and other items from the building, described the deceased as a quiet, Chinese woman.
The slender-built woman thought to be in her fifties, is said to have worked in the law firm as the secretary for the past five years.
At the morgue on Thursday morning, the deceased's daughter, accompanied by relatives, identified the body. She was too distraught to speak, but her expression said it all.
- CNA /ls/sf/ck
