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Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa'ee, 37, who was accused of killing Felicia Teo Wei Ling on June 30, 2007, was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the murder charge on Monday, June 27, The Straits Times and Today reported.
This comes 1.5 years after he was charged.
He has been in remand during this time.
ST reported that he is expected to plead guilty next week to unlawfully depositing her corpse in a public place.
Another man, Ragil Putra Setia Sukmarahjana, an Indonesian, who was also accused of the murder, is not in Singapore.
The prosecution called for a discharge for Ahmad, as Ragil, who was reported as age 32 in May 2022, is still at large.
This ruling means that Ahmad can still face prosecution for a related crime if any evidence or information emerges later.
Faces 6 charges of less serious nature
Ahmad, a Singaporean, now faces six fresh charges of a less serious nature over Teo’s death.
According to Today the six charges are:
Two counts of fabricating false evidence
By making calls to Teo's phone, leaving her voicemails, and messaging her on social media to create a false impression that they believed she was still alive when they knew she was already dead.
By placing Teo's phone in the vicinity of East Coast Park to support lies given to the police that she had gone there.
One count of dishonest misappropriation of property possessed by a deceased person at the time of their death by taking Teo's mobile phone, MacBook Pro, and Olympus DSLR camera with two lens.
One count of omitting to give information about Teo's death on June 30, 2007 when he was legally bound to report a sudden or unnatural death to the police.
One count of giving false information to two police officers that they did not know what happened to Teo after she left a party, intending for the police not to arrest them.
One count of disposing of Teo's corpse in the vicinity of Punggol Track 24, under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.
Teo was last seen going to a flat at Block 19 Marine Terrace.
She was never found.
What was said in court
ST reported that the defence lawyer urged the court to grant Ahmad a discharge amounting to an acquittal, which means the accused cannot be charged with the same offence in the future.
However, the defence lawyer argued that without receiving an acquittal, the murder charge will hang over Ahmad indefinitely.
District Judge Eugene Teo noted the defence lawyer's concern and said the discharge without amounting to an acquittal will be reviewed later.
According to Today, he also said the one-and-a-half years the accused was held was not for futile reasons,
Ahmad has been remanded since his arrest in mid-December 2020, Today reported.
Murder is a non-bailable offence in Singapore.
He was offered bail of S$20,000 on Monday.
