Remand extended for suspect in Felicia Teo’s murder as more time needed for probe

SINGAPORE — A man charged a fortnight ago with murdering a 19-year-old will be held in remand for one more week, as he has been unwell and more time is needed to complete investigations.

Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa’ee, 35, was charged on Dec 17 with the murder of Felicia Teo Wei Ling in 2007.

The court heard on Thursday (Dec 31) that Ahmad, a creative manager at gaming firm Razer, had been receiving medical attention at Changi Prison’s Complex Medical Centre and the police could not finish their investigations because he has been ill. 

Wearing a red polo shirt, face mask and with his hair tied back, Ahmad briefly reappeared in court via video link. He did not show any emotion.

Ahmad’s lawyer Shashi Nathan of law firm Withers KhattarWong did not object to the extension of the remand. Mr Nathan said that the defence team intended to meet Ahmad on Thursday at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The police prosecution had last Thursday first applied for Ahmad to be further remanded to complete investigations and recover evidence.

Ahmad and Ragil Putra Setia Sukmarahjana, 32, are accused of murdering Teo in a Housing and Development Board flat at Block 19 Marine Terrace between 1.39am and 7.20am on June 30, 2007.

The police said previously that they were searching for Ragil, who is believed to be overseas. Based on his LinkedIn profile, he was last listed as being based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The two men are believed to have been the last to see Teo at the flat that night. The three are said to be friends, and had all attended the Lasalle College of the Arts, based on their social media profiles.

Ahmad was arrested on Dec 15 in relation to Teo’s disappearance after new leads surfaced when the cold case was referred to CID for a fresh review.

Teo’s disappearance in 2007 sparked a frenzied islandwide search comprising almost 200 family and friends who distributed and posted thousands of fliers, refusing to believe that she had run away.

While tracing items believed to be in Teo’s possession when she was reported missing, CID officers linked one of the items to Ahmad and arrested him.

Preliminary investigations found that Teo died before her mother made a police report on July 3, 2007, and that the two men had allegedly disposed of Teo's body.

The police had said that they were searching for Teo’s remains.

Ahmad will return to court on Jan 7 next year.

If convicted of murder, he faces the death penalty.