Filipino maid charged with murder in Singapore meets lawyer, husband

SINGAPORE (AP) - A maid charged with murdering her Filipino compatriot and friend in Singapore made a second court appearance on Friday, where she met her lawyer for the first time since her arrest a week ago. 

A Singaporean court permitted police to detain Guen Garlejo Aguilar, 29, without access to legal counsel or her family.  

She stands accused of killing and dismembering Jane Parangan La Puebla, 26, on Sept. 7. 

The Straits Times newspaper reported Friday that Aguilar and La Puebla were best friends. 

Aguilar cried in court but offered a weak smile when she saw her husband, Edwin, who flew in from Manila late Thursday.  

She was given rare permission by Singapore authorities to later visit with her husband, whom she hadn't seen in three years. 

"He's flown all the way here, it will be nice for them to have some time together just to say hello,'' said lawyer Sashi Nathan, who met with Aguilar for the first time Friday.  

Edwin Aguilar (2nd from right) husband of Guen Garlejo Aguilar, the Filipino maid accused of the murder of her compatriat Jane Parangan La Puebla in Singapore, arrives at the court, Friday. - APpic

"I just feel sad for them that the first time he sees her in three years, she has to be sitting in the docks.'' 

Aguilar is accused of chopping up La Puebla's body and dumping the remains in plastic bags around the city-state. 

Her head was found near Singapore's main shopping district. 

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Anota attended Friday's hearing. 

Singapore's government said Thursday that Aguilar is being treated fairly by the city-state's justice system after her family said she was framed.  

Under Singaporean law, suspects can be held without access to a lawyer or family until police investigations are complete. 

Aguilar's family and officials from her hometown of Tagudin in Ilocos Sur province, north of Manila, have appealed to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to intervene in the case, fearing Aguilar may suffer the same fate as another Filipino maid, Flor Contemplacion, who was executed in Singapore in 1995 for murder despite appeals - and outrage - from Manila. 

Tempers flared over the execution and the two countries temporarily withdrew their respective ambassadors. 

Relations were only normalised a year later.About 140,000 foreign maids work in Singapore.  

Most are from the Philippines and Indonesia. 

The case will be brought before a court again on Sept. 23. - AP

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