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SINGAPORE: Despite coming face to face with the man her daughter had accused of rape, Mdm Sahayam Elis G Sebastian remembered walking away with a "happy" assessment of Pathip Selvan Sugumaran.
She did not even raise any objections when Pathip - whom she described as "courteous and very quiet" - that day, on July 7, suggested marrying her 18-year-old daughter Jeevitha Panippan once she had retaken her 'O' Levels.
Little did Mdm Sahayam know that less than two hours after parting ways with her daughter at 8.20pm, the teenager would be dead.
The alleged murderer was Ms Jeevitha's 23-year-old boyfriend Pathip.
More than a year after the tragedy, Mdm Sahayam is still reeling from the shock.
On Monday, as the prosecution read her police statement in court, her wails rang out when she heard the words "attacked and killed".
Ms Jeevitha's bloodied body was found next to bushes near an SP Powergrid substation opposite Block 154 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5. Her cause of death was certified as "stab injuries to the heart, left lung, pancreas, stomach and neck".
By then, Pathip was already in Johor Baru.
He had gone to Woodlands Checkpoint at 9.50pm the previous night to apply for a temporary travel document - as his passport had expired - to attend his grandmother's funeral.
He left at around 10.30pm. But within a day, he was back in Singapore to turn himself in.
MediaCorp understands that the defence's case is sudden and grave provocation.
The trial continues. If convicted, Pathip will be hanged. - TODAY/vm
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