Tampines murder: Co-tenants moving out from flat

Robin Choo

Tenants staying in the same Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Tampines where the body of a woman was found are moving out.

A 37-year-old man was arrested for the suspected murder of a woman at Tampines Central 1 on Wednesday (Dec 18). The man and dead woman – both Chinese nationals – are believed to be a couple but it is unclear if they are married to each other.

The dead woman was found in one of the bedrooms of unit they were renting at Block 503, while the suspect was arrested at Block 505 after earlier fleeing the units.

At least seven other men and women were seen entering and exiting the unit, some of them carrying suitcases when TODAY visited the flat on Wednesday (Dec 18). They declined to speak to the media, although one told reporters he was returning to China.

The tenant added all the tenants in the unit would be moving out as a result of the incident, which has left them deeply shaken.

“EXTREMELY HEATED” ARGUMENT HEARD

TODAY reported that on Tuesday night, an argument between the couple — both Chinese nationals — broke out in their room. A tenant, who declined to be named, had been at work at the time, but was told by another tenant that the argument was “extremely heated”.

The quarrel was said to have lasted about 10 minutes, before things went quiet. The tenant said the man was seen by other tenants leaving the room and locking the door. They said he left the flat with what appeared to be a knife wrapped in a piece of cloth, and did not appear to be hurt at the time.

The tenant, who is also a Chinese national, said the man was already gone when he returned home from work. “I knocked on the couple’s room door, but there was no response, so I decided to open it,” he said in Mandarin to reporters. He found the woman lying face down on a mattress on the floor, motionless. Leaving the room without touching anything, he called the police.

Police have classified the case as murder and investigations are ongoing.

Source: channelnewsasia