Mother, stepfather of 11-year-old girl charged with murdering her in Jurong flat

SINGAPORE — A married couple, both aged 26, were charged on Thursday (Nov 12) with the murder of the woman’s 11-year-old biological daughter.

Court documents showed that the alleged killing took place in a Jurong flat between Nov 6 and 10.

The man was the girl’s stepfather. Neither he nor his wife can be named due to a court order, but the reason was not stated in open court.

The couple, who have other children, each face one count of murder with common intention, which carries the death penalty. 

In a news release the day before, the police said that the girl was unconscious when taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital by ambulance on Tuesday at about 11am. She was pronounced dead at 12.40pm.

Court documents did not reveal more details of how the incident took place.

The couple appeared in a district court via video link on Thursday. 

The mother, who wore a colourful T-shirt with Hello Kitty figures and rainbows, sought bail for a week.

She told District Judge Tan Jen-Tse that she has joint custody of two of her sons with her ex-husband, and that she has to settle one of the boy’s school fees.

The judge replied that given the nature of their alleged offence, he could not offer bail.

The stepfather asked whether he could see his own son through a video call, while his wife asked to see her three sons.

They will return to court on Nov 19 and remain in remand for investigations to be conducted.

OTHER ALLEGED KILLINGS

This is the third alleged killing of a young girl, purportedly at the hands of her parents, that has come before the courts here in just over a year.

In an unrelated case, another couple were charged in July with the murder of a four-year-old girl.

The girl’s mother, Foo Li Ping, 24, and the man, Wong Shi Xiang, 33, who is reportedly Foo’s boyfriend, are accused of killing the girl in a Paya Lebar condominium unit sometime in February.

Together with another woman — Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 30 — they then allegedly disposed of the girl’s corpse by burning it in a metal barrel at the nearby Paya Ubi Industrial Park three months later. 

About a year ago, the parents of another two-year-old girl were charged with murdering her in a Chin Swee Road flat in March 2014. Her remains were only discovered in September last year.

Her parents also cannot be named due to a court order to protect their other children’s identities.