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More than 13 years after a teenage girl disappeared, prompting a mass search for her, a man was charged with her murder.
Miss Felicia Teo, 19, a senior at Lasalle College of the Arts, was last seen on Marine Terrace on June 30, 2007.
Despite a search that spanned the Calzada and desperate pleas from her family and friends for information on her whereabouts, Miss Teo was never found.
Even until the middle of this year, the police continued to work on his case in the hope of finding clues to his possible whereabouts.
When there were none, the cases were referred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further review.
Then, in a shocking twist, police said yesterday that preliminary investigations had revealed that Ms. Teo was murdered and her body disposed of even before her mother reported her missing on July 3, 2007.
They said in a statement that a 35-year-old suspect was arrested Tuesday in connection with the case and that the search for Ms. Yeo’s remains was ongoing.
It is understood that the authorities are combing an area in the northeast of the island.
Yesterday afternoon, Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa’ee, 35, was charged with the murder of Ms. Teo in a 10th floor unit in Block 19 Marine Terrace between 1.39 am and 7.20 am on June 30, 2007 .
Ahmad Danial, wearing glasses, long hair and pierced ears, was handcuffed when he appeared in court via video link. He was expressionless when the charge was read to him.
He has been placed on remand for investigations and will return to court on Thursday next week.
An old woman and two children believed to be related to him were in the courtroom.
Ahmad Danial had allegedly murdered Miss Teo with another man, Ragil Putra Setia Sukmarahjana, now 32, according to court documents.
Police said Ragil Putra Setia is still at large.
It is believed to have been recently photographed in Indonesia. The New Paper understands that international law enforcement has been notified.
His social media accounts were deactivated yesterday afternoon, shortly after news of the murder charge of Ahmad Danial broke online.
After Miss Teo’s disappearance, more than 200 people, including family, friends and members of the public, searched in vain for her in Singapore and Johor at one point.
By conducting thorough investigations, the police established that she was last seen at the Marine Terrace apartment, which was later recorded as the address of Ragil Putra Setia’s brother.
It was reported at the time that she was seen on surveillance footage taking the elevator to the unit, but there were no images of her exiting the block.
It was assumed that he could have descended the stairs even though the unit was on the highest level of the block.
Ahmad Danial and Ragil Putra Setia, who were also students at Lasalle, were friends of Miss Teo, according to their online profiles.
Police said the two men told them in an interview in 2007 that Ms. Teo had left the apartment on her own in the early morning of June 30.
As there was no indication of foul play, the case was classified as a missing person case and a property bulletin was issued for items believed to be in Ms. Teo’s possession when she disappeared.
NOTIFICATION
The items included a mobile phone, laptop, and digital camera. Once posted, if any of the items surfaced at a second-hand dealer or lost item, a police notification would be generated.
The breakthrough came as the CID uncovered new leads while tracking properties listed in the gazette, leading to the arrest of Ahmad Danial.
CID Director Deputy Chief Police Commissioner How Kwang Hwee said yesterday: “I would like to congratulate the investigators for their hard work and determination in solving the case.
“Investigators managed to uncover new clues to shed light on what may have happened to the victim, identify the suspect, and arrest him.”
If convicted of murder, Ahmad Danial could face the death penalty.
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