A 41-year-old man has been charged in court for allegedly murdering his wife in a hotel room in Chinatown on South Bridge Road.
The accused, an Indonesian national named Salehuddin, was charged via video link in the State Courts on Saturday (Oct 25) with one count of murder, reported Shin Min Daily News.
According to the charge sheet, he is accused of killing 38-year-old Indonesian woman Nurdia Rahmah Rery, his wife, between 3 am and 5 am on Friday (Oct 24) at Room 703 of Capri by Fraser China Square, located along Cross Street.
Media reports said the accused, who was dressed in a red polo shirt, appeared calm when he appeared in court. An Indonesian interpreter read the charge to him.
When asked if he had anything to say, the accused, through the interpreter, asked the judge:
“Can I be sent back to Indonesia to be tried and sentenced there?”
The judge rejected his request, saying that the case was still at an early stage and no such applications would be accepted at the moment.
The accused then replied through the interpreter:
“Your Honour, I object. My punishment is the death penalty.”
The court later granted the prosecution’s request to remand him for a three-week psychiatric assessment.
The case has been adjourned to November 14 for further mention.
According to a police statement released on Friday (Oct 24), the accused surrendered himself at Redhill Neighbourhood Police Centre at about 7.40 am, around one kilometre away from the hotel, and confessed to killing his wife.
When police officers arrived at the hotel, they found a woman lying dead inside the room.
Under Section 302(1) of the Penal Code, anyone found guilty of murder faces the death penalty.
