Belgian man pleads guilty to killing 5-year-old son in D'Leedon condominium

Belgian expatriate Philippe Marcel Guy Graffart seen arriving at the State Courts in October 2015. He pleaded guilty on August 1 having admitted to causing the death of his five-year-old son last October. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network

SINGAPORE: Belgian expatriate Philippe Marcel Guy Graffart pleaded guilty on Monday in the High Court to a charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, having admitted to causing the death of his five-year-old son last October.

Graffart, 42, admitted causing the death of Keryan Gabriel Cedric Graffart at his 32nd-storey apartment in Leedon Heights last year between 9pm and 10.17pm on Oct 5. 

He is accused of pressing a cushion over the boy's head, preventing him from breathing.

Graffart, who was believed to have been fighting for the boy's custody with his wife at the time, had turned up injured at Bukit Timah Neighbourhood Police Post just after 5am on Oct 6.

An hour later, police went to his condominium at D'Leedon and found the body of his son in a bedroom. The boy was pronounced dead by paramedics at 6.17am.

The court heard on Monday that after killing his son, Graffart tried to commit suicide by crashing his car into Marina Coast Expressway (MCE) tunnel.

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Graffart was head of the Singapore investment management arm of Nordea, a company that describes itself as the largest financial group in northern Europe.

At a mention in the State Courts in March, the prosecution said that it would amend the charge against Graffart from murder to culpable homicide if he chose to plead guilty.

He will be sentenced on Aug 22. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network