He is accused of murdering and stealing from victim
By
Teh Joo Lin
,
Kimberly Spykerman
and
Elena Chong
The murder and theft allegedly took place between 2pm and 4pm on Oct 16. Four days later, her body was found in Bukit Batok Nature park by passers-by. -- ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSIN
AN UNEMPLOYED man has been charged with the murder of a real estate agent, whose decomposed body was found in the bushes of a nature park more than three weeks ago.
Ms Jennifer Choo Xue Ying's car, handbag and cheque book were also stolen.
Yesterday, Rosli Yassin, 49, who was known to Ms Choo, was charged with causing her death.
He had allegedly used her cheque book to make out a $500,000 cash cheque to con a victim.
He is accused of murdering the 47-year-old real estate agent and stealing her belongings.
The murder and theft allegedly took place between 2pm and 4pm on Oct 16. Four days later, her body was found in Bukit Batok Nature park by passers-by.
Rosli was first charged with cheating by using a cash cheque from the victim's cheque book two weeks ago. A week later, he was charged with a second cheating offence and theft.
According to the charges, he allegedly stole her yellow Chery QQ car and brown handbag, which contained her identification card, credit cards, two thumb drives, two mobile phones and a cheque book.
The murder apparently took place at Lorong Sesuai, a small road linking the park to Upper Bukit Timah Road. Her body was later found in dense forest fringing the lane. She died from severe head injuries, though it is not clear how they were inflicted.
Lorong Sesuai is less than 2km away from two apartments Ms Choo had advertised in The Straits Times to sell two days before her death.
It is not immediately known if Rosli responded to the notices, though the two apparently knew each other.
He was arrested in a Sentosa hotel, where he was staying, 10 days after the discovery of the body.
It was so badly decomposed it took investigators a week to identify her. The police took the rare step of releasing photographs of some jewellery found on her body in the hope that someone would come forward with information.
She was eventually identified through her dental records after 'extensive inquiries with various dental clinics', a police spokesman said, and her identity was confirmed by DNA analysis.
In the meantime, the connection to Rosli was being forged.He apparently used her cheque book to make out a cash cheque for $500,000, deceiving a man into believing it would be honoured by the bank. The man lent him $1,400 and later gave him a cash cheque for $10,000.
Yesterday, Ms Choo's brother expressed relief at the breakthrough in police investigations.
She was not close to her family and had moved out in June.
It was her childhood friend who put up an obituary in The Straits Times for her. The woman, known only as Madam Tay, described Ms Choo as a kind woman she could always count on.
Ms Choo was a 'creature of habit' who made daily trips to the Geylang East Community Library to use the Internet, becoming a familiar face with the staff. They said she always sat in the same spot.
'If I needed to look her up for anything at any time of the day, I always knew exactly where I'd find her,' said Madam Tay.
Rosli has been remanded for psychiatric evaluation.
