Source: The Straits Times
He was a changed man, he told the girl’s mother, two months after he was accused of raping the teenager.
Pathip Selvan Sugumaran, 23, admitted he was a gangster known as “Marsiling Baby” and “Woodlands Baby”.
But he was so smitten by Jeevitha Panippan, 18, that he told Madam Sahayam Elis G Sebastian that he was willing to renounce his past.
He would attend church. He would provide for her. He wanted to marry her.
And he said this while hiding a knife on his person.
Less than an hour later on 7 Jul last year, Jeevitha was stabbed to death.
Madam Sahayam Elis, a security officer, was testifying at Pathip Selvan’s trial, which began yesterday.
He is accused of murdering Jeevitha that night, soon after trying to convince Madam Sahayam Elis that he was worthy of her daughter. Pathip Selvan told Madam Sahayam Elis, who had met him only for the second time, that he was a safety supervisor earning $2,500 monthly, and he could give Jeevitha a good life.
He also told her that he used to join gangs before knowing Jeevitha, but had started going to church every Saturday.
He added he was paying for Jeevitha’s studies, and wanted to earn $4,500 monthly so that he could give her the good life.
Madam Sahayam Elis said: “He also told me not to worry about anything and that he will take care of her.”
Jeevitha, a kindergarten teacher, was quiet throughout the conversation that day.
Madam Sahayam Elis advised Pathip Selvan to see Jeevitha once a week, let her finish her studies, and join her and Jeevitha in church every Sunday before thinking of getting married.
She said she was happy with him because he “spoke very softly and very politely and took her advice”.
This despite knowing that Jeevitha had lodged a police report alleging that Pathip Selvan had raped her.
Madam Sahayam Elis told the High Court yesterday that Jeevitha went missing for three days in May or June last year, and she found out that the teen was living with a friend.
She said in Tamil: “When I found her, she was with Kathik and Vicky... her friends. Jeevitha informed me that ‘Marsiling Baby’ had raped her and she had already lodged a police report against him.
“I scolded Jeevitha for not informing me earlier of the matter.
“Jeevitha also informed me that ‘Marsiling Baby’ had been looking for her and had threatened her...”
Breaks down in court
Every time she mentioned her dead daughter in court, she would break down in tears.
Justice Kan Ting Chiu stopped the proceedings briefly, told her to calm down and later asked her through the Tamil interpreter if she could carry on.
She continued her testimony after a 15-minute break.
Madam Sahayam Elis told the court that at 3pm on 7 Jul last year, she accompanied Jeevitha to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for a medical examination over her rape report.
After the medical examination, which showed that Jeevitha was not pregnant, Madam Sahayam Elis said she and Jeevitha went to have some food at Tekka Market.
That was when Jeevitha’s friend told her that Pathip Selvan was waiting to see the teen near her home in Ang Mo Kio.
Said Madam Sahayam Elis: “While we were at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 and when we were near Block 155 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, we saw an Indian male at the study corner.
“On seeing us, ‘Marsiling Baby’ called Jeevitha to go over to him. Jeevitha asked me to follow her. We walked over to ‘Marsiling Baby’ and we all sat at the round table.”
That was when Pathip Selvan told Madam Sahayam Elis that he wanted to marry her daughter.
When Pathip Selvan’s lawyer, Mr Subhas Anandan, asked her whether she should have told her daughter to stop meeting the man who allegedly raped her, Madam Sahayam Elis said she
did not think there was any danger because she accompanied Jeevitha to meet him.
She left the couple around 8pm. It was the last time she saw her daughter alive.
Throughout the conversation with Madam Sahayam Elis, Pathip Selvan was armed with a knife which he had bought around 6pm that day from a shop in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.
Ms Chan Kah Kee, a sales assistant at the shop, told the court in Mandarin that Pathip Selvan had earlier asked if the knife could cut chickens.
She replied: “Which part of the chicken do you want to cut?”
Ms Chan said Pathip Selvan just replied: “That’s okay. My friend asked me to buy (the knife).”
She said Pathip Selvan paid $4.90 for the knife and left the store.
The knife was the weapon used to inflict three fatal wounds on Jeevitha – one on her neck, one on her left shoulder, and the third on her left chest.