Man, 34, charged with murder of woman in Woodlands flat

The police received a call for assistance and found Ms Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman lying motionless inside a rental unit on Jan 17, 2019. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE - A 34-year-old man appeared in court on Friday (Jan 18) after a woman was found dead in a Woodlands flat a day before.

M. Krishnan is accused of murdering Ms Mallika Begum Rahamansa Abdul Rahman, 40, between 10pm on Wednesday and 1.37am on Thursday. He allegedly committed the offence in a unit on the 11th storey of Block 693D Woodlands Avenue 6.

Court documents did not state the nature of their relationship.

The police received a call for assistance on Thursday morning and found Ms Mallika lying motionless inside a rental unit.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers then arrested Krishnan.

Residents told The Straits Times that Ms Mallika, believed to have been a school teacher, had been arguing frequently with a man in the three to four days before the incident.

A resident who lives on the eighth storey said: "Both were shouting at each other and the fights lasted for about an hour each time. I was home... and I heard loud noises."

It is unclear if the man was Krishnan.

Mr Daniel Hussain, whose 12th-floor unit is almost directly above the crime scene, told ST that at around 8.30pm on Wednesday, he heard what sounded like a scuffle on the 11th storey.

He added: "I heard (the sound of) things smashing on the ground, it was very noisy.

"From 10pm, all was quiet. Then it started again at about 12.50am. There was a very loud shout below that sounded like a lady's voice and there was a man shouting vulgarities."

According to Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao, Ms Mallika was found to have bruises on her hands, feet, face and eyes.

A 72-year-old resident, who lives down the corridor from the dead woman and declined to be named, said: "The few times I've seen her, she was alone. She seemed very gentle."

Krishnan is now remanded at the Central Police Division and will be back in court next Friday (Jan 25).

If convicted of murder, he will face the death penalty.

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