SINGAPORE: A man has been accused of knowingly concealing the corpse of a woman in a flat in Hougang.
The woman’s body was only discovered four days after the alleged concealment, by which time it was in a decomposed state.
Jason Hong Kai Qi, a 33-year-old Singaporean, was first charged in April with one count of knowingly concealing a human corpse.
He allegedly had reasons to report and seek assistance over the dead body in a flat at Block 43 Hougang Avenue 7 at about 4.10pm on Apr 23, but chose to leave the unit.
As a result, the decomposing body of Ms Nallur Yang Hui Ying was only discovered four days later on Apr 27.
According to the charge, Hong “prevented the discovery of a human corpse”.
His charge sheet did not specify the nature of his relationship with Ms Yang and it did not state how or when she died.
When he was first charged, the case was adjourned pending a Health Sciences Authority report to determine the woman’s cause of death.
However, there was no mention of this when Hong returned to court for a further mention of his case on Monday (Jun 24).
His case dragged from the morning to the evening as he had no identification on him and did not bring his bailor.
Hong, who did not have a lawyer, claimed that his passport and IC had been taken during a search.
The prosecutor asked if it was the police or Immigration and Checkpoints Authority who seized his passport, but Hong said: “Uh, it’s unclear. But I have already made a police report about it.”
When further questioned about his IC, Hong said his IC was at home and he was unsure if an agency had taken it or he had lost it.
He was identified by his bailor at about 5pm on Monday and the prosecution sought six weeks’ adjournment, saying they were anticipating reports from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and that Hong is also under investigation by the Central Narcotics Bureau.
Hong is out on bail of S$20,000 (US$14,790) and will return to court in August.
If convicted of knowingly concealing a human corpse and preventing its discovery, Hong could be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.