SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Netwrork): A man who had been accused of killing Felicia Teo Wei Ling on June 30, 2007 was on Monday (June 27) given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the murder charge.
Those granted such a discharge can still be prosecuted for the related crime if relevant information or evidence were to emerge later.
Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa'ee, 37, had been accused of committing the offence with another man, Ragil Putra Setia Sukmarahjana, in a flat at Block 19 Marine Terrace.
The prosecution called for such a discharge for Ahmad as Ragil, an Indonesian, is still at large.
Defence lawyer Shashi Nathan, however, urged the court to grant Ahmad a discharge amounting to an acquittal.
Those given such a discharge cannot be charged again with the same offence.
The lawyer told the court that the prosecution's proposal would mean his client would have a murder charge hanging over him indefinitely.
After hearing both sides, District Judge Eugene Teo granted Ahmad a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
He noted Nathan's concern, saying he has sympathies on the matter.
The judge added that there may be a review at some point in the future on the case and accepted the prosecution's proposal.
Ahmad and Ragil were believed to have been the last to see Teo, 19, alive when she went to the flat that night.
The three are said to have been friends and studied at Lasalle College of the Arts, according to their online profiles.
Teo's disappearance made headlines when her family and friends appealed for help, refusing to believe she had run away.
They last saw her on June 29, 2007, when she left her home in Bras Basah.
Closed-circuit television footage later showed her entering a lift in a Marine Terrace housing block with two men.
The police said previously they had classified the case as a missing persons case in 2007 as they had found no facts to link the two men to Teo's disappearance.
The Straits Times had earlier reported that both men had maintained Teo had left the flat in the wee hours of June 30 that year.
Hundreds of people were involved in looking for Teo in 2007, distributing thousands of fliers bearing her photograph.
After years of review, the case was referred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 2020.
A breakthrough came after the CID found belongings believed to have been with Ms Teo when she was reported missing.
Ahmad was arrested and he was charged with murder on Dec 17, 2020.
Offenders convicted of murder face the death sentence.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
