Filipino maid accused of chopping up best friend cries in court

A MAID charged with murdering her Filipino compatriot and friend here made a second court appearance yesterday, where she met her lawyer for the first time since her arrest a week ago. 

A court allowed 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 yesterday 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 on Thursday. She was given rare permission by the authorities to later visit with her husband, whom she hadn't seen in three years. 

MORAL SUPPORT: Anota accompanying Edwin into the courthouse inSingapore yesterday. He arrived from Manila on Thursday. — APpic

“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 yesterday. “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 the hearing. 

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. 

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