Geylang murder trial: Victim said someone tried to kill her, says witness

Geylang murder trial: Victim said someone tried to kill her, says witness

The married couple were waiting for the hotel lift when they saw a young woman staggering towards them.

She was naked and covered in blood.

When they asked her if she was all right, all she said was: "Can you help me?"

These details emerged during the testimony of hotel guests, Mr Mohamed Firdaus Kamsani and his wife, Madam Farizah Abdul Aziz, in the High Court yesterday.

They were called as prosecution witnesses for the trial of Giselle Shi Jia Wei, 25, who is accused of the attempted murder of her former girlfriend, Miss Ummul Qurratu 'Ain Abdul Rahman, on July 22, 2012.

Shi had allegedly stabbed Miss Ummul twice in the chest with a knife in Room 801 of the Golden Star Hotel in Geylang.

Mr Mohamed Firdaus and his wife had occupied Room 803 and were waiting for the lift at about 5.40pm when they saw Miss Ummul.

She seemed weak and covered in blood. As she was naked, she used her hands to cover her chest and her private parts, Madam Farizah told the court.

All she could make out was Miss Ummul saying: "Can you help me?"

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TRIED TO KILL HER

Mr Mohamed Firdaus went back to their room to get a towel while Madam Farizah held on to Miss Ummul.

"She told me someone had tried to kill her," Madam Farizah said.

When her husband came back with the towel, she used it to cover Miss Ummul's chest and helped her into the lift.

Inside, she asked Miss Ummul if her boyfriend was the one who had stabbed her.

Miss Ummul replied that it was her friend, before repeatedly asking the couple to call the police.

In the lobby, Mr Mohamed Firdaus called the police while his wife helped Miss Ummul to a sofa and got another towel to cover the injured woman's lower body.

When Madam Farizah asked if her friend was still in the room, Miss Ummul seemed too weak to answer, but said repeatedly that her belongings were still in the room.

"I told her the police would take care of that. I kept talking to her to keep her awake," Madam Farizah said, adding that Miss Ummul had told them that she found it hard to breathe.

TWO BLEEDING WOUNDS

Also taking the stand yesterday afternoon were the paramedics who went to the scene.

Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Zohri Anwar said that when he got to the hotel, Miss Ummul was on the sofa and seemed weak. But she could tell him that she had been stabbed.

He noticed that she was still bleeding from two stab wounds on her chest.

He helped to carry her to the waiting ambulance, where paramedics dressed her wounds and gave her an oxygen mask.

But her heart rate was still lower than normal, WO2 Zohri said. She was then taken to hospital.

By then, WO2 Zohri had called for back-up to help Shi, who was lying on a bed in Room 801, covered with a blanket.

In her conditional statement that was read out in court, Warrant Officer (WO) Low Pey Yun, who responded to the call, said she called out to Shi but there was no response.

As she approached Shi, she noticed blood stains on the floor and bed but the blanket covering her was "not as bloody".

When she examined Shi, she saw a slash wound of about 2cm on the woman's upper chest which had "minor bleeding and appeared superficial".

"There were no signs of struggle or scratch marks," WO Low added.

As she was about to have Shi taken to hospital, Shi said she did not want to go and that she was okay.

"(But) I told her because it was a chest wound, so she had to go and have it checked out," WO Low said.

Asked by Justice Choo Han Teck whether the woman she had treated that day was in court, WO Low looked towards the dock, turned back and said: "Yes. But she wasn't wearing spectacles that day."

GRAPHIC VIDEO

Earlier during the hearing, CCTV footage of Miss Ummul's escape from the room was played to the court.

However, due to the graphic nature of the video, Justice Choo ordered that members of the public and the media be asked to leave the courtroom before it was played.

The trial continues today.

Defence: Injuries on victim were 'unintentional'

The injuries sustained by Miss Ummul Qurratu 'Ain Abdul Rahman were unintentional, defence lawyer Jayakumar Naidu suggested to her during cross-examination yesterday.

On Tuesday, Miss Ummul had told the court that after being stabbed twice, she passed out and when she came to, she thought she saw the accused, Giselle Shi Jia Wei, cutting her own wrists.

"If your version is to be believed," Mr Naidu said, "there was opportunity for the accused to cause you further harm (while she was passed out)."

In response, Miss Ummul said: "All I can say is that she probably thought that I was already dead. Or she wanted to let me slowly die since I (had) already lost so much blood from two stabs."

Mr Naidu also painted a different scenario of the alleged attack for the witness.

While straddling Miss Ummul's left thigh on the bed, his client had threatened to kill herself with the knife she had brought in her handbag, he said.

It was revealed earlier that Shi was known to have threatened suicide at least twice previously.

Unconvinced that Shi would go through with the threat, Miss Ummul ignored her and continued watching television until she saw her former lover turn the knife on herself, Mr Naidu said.

"You did not bother stopping her and you were over-confident she couldn't go through (with it)," he added.

He suggested that during the struggle, Miss Ummul was stabbed once in the chest, but managed to pull out the knife.

They tumbled to the floor and Miss Ummul was stabbed a second time.

She pulled out the knife again and threw it under the bed.

Miss Ummul disagreed with Mr Naidu's scenarios.

ABOUT THE CASE

Giselle Shi Jia Wei, 25, is on trial for the attempted murder of her former lover, Miss Ummul Qurratu 'Ain Abdul Rahman, 22.

She is alleged to have stabbed Miss Ummul twice in the chest with a knife in a Geylang hotel on July 22, 2012.

According to court documents, Shi and Miss Ummul had a tumultuous relationship which began in July 2011.

They broke up about a week before the alleged attack.

After Shi's repeated attempts to reconcile, Miss Ummul agreed to meet her for supper on July 21.

They checked into the Golden Star Hotel at Geylang Lorong 8. After waking up the next afternoon, they had sex.

As Miss Ummul was watching TV naked, Shi tried again to reconcile.

When Miss Ummul said no, Shi allegedly attacked her before turning the knife on herself.

Miss Ummul managed to escape and was helped by two hotel guests, who called the police.

For attempted murder, Shi can be jailed for life.

lawsm@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on Sept 26, 2014.
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