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Felicia Teo's death: Hearing adjourned for man accused of disposing of body, giving false evidence

SINGAPORE — A man previously charged with murdering 19-year-old Felicia Teo Wei Ling, who went missing in 2007, was expected to plead guilty to less serious charges on Wednesday (July 6).
Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa'ee (left) arriving at the State Courts on July 6, 2022. He faces six charges over the death of Felicia Teo Wei Ling (right) in 2007.

Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa'ee (left) arriving at the State Courts on July 6, 2022. He faces six charges over the death of Felicia Teo Wei Ling (right) in 2007.

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  • Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa’ee, 37, was due to plead guilty to various charges related to the death of Felicia Teo Wei Ling 
  • However, the case was adjourned owing to various unresolved legal issues such as an agreed statement of facts
  • Teo, 19, went missing in June 2007 though her body has not been found
  • Ahmad's alleged accomplice in matters related to her death remains at large

SINGAPORE — A man previously charged with murdering 19-year-old Felicia Teo Wei Ling, who went missing in 2007, was expected to plead guilty to less serious charges on Wednesday (July 6).

However, the lawyer for Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa’ee told reporters that both the prosecution and defence have "multiple issues to resolve", including the statement of facts, sentencing submissions and documentation.

The case was adjourned to a pre-trial conference on Aug 5. It is not clear if Ahmad still intends to plead guilty.

Ahmad, 37, turned up in a blue suit with his team of lawyers from Withers KhattarWong. His lawyer Shashi Nathan said he was confident that they can "resolve matters fruitfully with the prosecution".

Ahmad was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for his murder charge on Monday last week. It means that the capital charge can be revived and he can still be prosecuted in the future should new evidence emerge, for instance.

The prosecution had applied for the discharge on the basis that the other main suspect — Mr Ragil Putra Setia Sukmarahjana, 34 — remains at large.

He is believed to be overseas, with his LinkedIn profile last listing him as being based on Jakarta, Indonesia.

The two men are believed to have been the last to see Teo at a Marine Terrace flat on June 30 in 2007, when she was allegedly murdered. The three are said to have been friends and had all attended Lasalle College of the Arts.

The teenager's body has not been found, though the prosecution previously said that a skull fragment was found where Ahmad allegedly said they had disposed of her body.

Ahmad, who last worked as a creative manager at gaming firm Razer, was arrested in December 2020 and has been remanded in prison since then. Murder is a non-bailable offence in Singapore.

He was released on bail of S$20,000 on Monday last week.

The Singaporean now faces six charges. He is accused of committing them — mostly on the day Teo disappeared — in common intention with Mr Ragil.

These charges include disposing of Teo’s corpse in the vicinity of Punggol Track 24, fabricating false evidence by creating a false impression that she was still alive, and misappropriating a deceased person’s property by taking her electronic devices.

Mr Nathan had sought a full acquittal for his client’s murder charge but another judge said that this was not the appropriate time to decide on that.

Along with Mr Nathan, Ahmad is also defended by Ms Tania Chin and Ms Laura Yeo.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

Ahmad was arrested on Dec 15, 2020 in relation to Teo’s disappearance after new leads surfaced when the cold case was referred to the police’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) for a fresh review.

The teenager's disappearance had in 2007 sparked a frenzied island-wide search comprising almost 200 family and friends who distributed and posted thousands of fliers, refusing to believe that she had run away.

TODAY reported in July 2007 that Teo had gone to the Marine Terrace flat after a party at Lasalle College of the Arts, where she was studying for a diploma in fine art.

She had gotten to know Mr Ragil first, and he was about the same age as her. He later introduced her to Ahmad, who was a few years older.

The police previously said that when they interviewed the two men at the time, the pair maintained that Teo left the 10th-floor unit in the wee hours of June 30 in 2007 of her own accord.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage retrieved from the town council showed her going up the lift with the two men to the flat, but the camera did not capture her departure.

The police said that they searched the flat and reviewed CCTV footage near it, but nothing incriminating was found.

Her disappearance was classified as a missing-person case because they did not find any facts that linked the two men to it.

No new leads surfaced until the case was referred to CID in 2020 for a fresh review, given that it had been unsolved for an extended period.

CID uncovered new leads while tracing the items believed to be in Teo’s possession when she was reported missing. Its officers managed to link one of the items to Ahmad and arrested him.

Related topics

court crime Felicia Teo death murder ahmad danial mohamed rafa'ae

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