Man charged in Tampines murder case

Man charged in Tampines murder case

The 37-year-old Chinese national who stabbed himself after allegedly killing a woman in a Tampines flat was yesterday charged with murder, while recovering in Changi General Hospital.

Zheng Xianghua will also undergo psychiatric evaluation, with his case coming before the courts on Jan 8.

 
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The woman who was found dead on Wednesday morning in a bedroom of a seventh-floor unit at Block 503, Tampines Central 1 has been identified as Ms Wang Xueyan, also from China. She is believed to be in her 20s.

Zheng had moved into the five-room flat only two hours earlier when the other tenants inside said they saw him running out of the closed bedroom with a knife, partially wrapped in paper.

He went to nearby Block 505, where he stabbed himself while on a ninth-floor ledge and threatened to jump off.

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After two hours, police managed to coax him back to safety before arresting him. Bleeding profusely, he was then taken to Changi General Hospital for treatment some time after 3am on Wednesday.

When The Straits Times visited the flat where the alleged murder took place, at least five tenants were packing their belongings and moving out of the unit. Two had already left on Wednesday.

There were nine people living there, all Chinese nationals.

The master tenant said he would try his best to "help them find lodging someplace else".

He claimed not to know Zheng or Ms Wang personally, saying only that the suspect sent messages via the WeChat app over the weekend, requesting urgent accommodation, and had introduced the victim as his wife.

The master tenant, who declined to reveal details about himself other than that he had been living there for a year, also said he would never want to help flat owners sub-lease their homes again.

"It's more trouble than it is worth."

Architect Chew Chak Min, who co-owns the flat with his wife Huang Yuefan, could not be reached for comment. A receptionist at his firm, SAA Architects, said he has been on leave since Wednesday and will be back at work only next week.

Responding to queries, the HDB said yesterday that it is "investigating the suspected unauthorised subletting of the unit".

awcw@sph.com.sg

hpeishan@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on December 19, 2014.
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