Mother scratched son's face, so he stabbed her

He stabbed his mother with a knife in self-defence, he told the police officer.

They had a quarrel and she tried to pull his hair. She had also scratched his face and jumped on him.

That was what the court heard yesterday in the culpable homicide trial of Sujay Solomon Sutherson, 34, who is accused of killing his mother, Madam Mallika Jesudasan, on May 27, 2012.

The witness statement of a police officer, who was the first to arrive at Sujay's Bukit Batok East flat, was read out by the prosecution on the second day of the trial in High Court.

Senior Staff Sergeant Mohamed Jasmani saw the flat's metal gate and wooden door ajar when he arrived after midnight.

Two men were fighting inside and one had pinned the other while holding on to two mobile phones.

The police separated the pair.

Senior Staff Sgt Jasmani said: "The accused (Sujay) told me that his mother was under the bed. He said that he had a quarrel with her earlier over some matters, which I cannot now recall.

"(He) admitted stabbing his mother with a knife out of self-defence."

Sujay had allegedly taken the knife from the kitchen.

Testimonies made by other witnesses including a paramedic, a doctor, police officers and forensic specialists were also heard. They were all cross-examined by the unrepresented Sujay.

On Monday, Sujay's uncle, Mr Daniel Jesudason, testified that he had seen "a pair of legs" when he pulled a suitcase from under Sujay's bed.

This was similarly reported in Senior Staff Sgt Jasmani's statement.

According to the police officer, when he entered Sujay's room with paramedics, he noticed "somebody's legs protruding from under the bed".

The body was partially concealed by two cardboard boxes and a bag.

BODY

Senior Staff Sgt Jasmani said: "I lifted the mattress slightly and saw through the opening of the bed frame that the upper part of the body was wrapped with a blood-soaked blanket.

"The wrapped body was motionless and the exposed leg was in an awkward position."

When paramedics later examined 56-year-old Madam Mallika, she was already dead.

Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedic Sergeant Ting Han Yao, who pronounced her dead, removed the two boxes and the bag with the help of a police officer.

They pulled the wrapped body out and placed it beside the bed, where it was unwrapped from the blankets and bedsheets. The woman's head was bloody.

Sgt Ting said: "There was a knife near the right side of the woman's neck and a deep jagged laceration starting from below her right ear lobe.

"There was also another knife embedded on the left side of her neck and I observed that the lacerations along her neck were jagged."

In his cross-examination, Sujay had asked Sgt Ting repeatedly if it was easy to pull the body from under the bed. The third time he did so, Sujay was told by Justice Hoo Sheau Peng to end his queries.

On Monday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Kumaresan Gohulabalan accused Sujay of attempting to burn Madam Mallika's body and disposing of it later after stabbing her.

Evidence was noted in Senior Investigation Officer Cheong Wei Mun's witness statement:"I observed that the deceased was dressed in a blue, flowery dress. The dress was burnt and the skin on the left side of the body was seen to be charred."

The trial continues today.

This article was first published on July 8, 2015.
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