Decomposed body of 6-year-old boy found; 31-year-old suspect arrested
By Evelyn Choo, Teo Xuanwei, Channel NewsAsia/TODAY | Posted: 25 November 2009 2002 hrs

	Photos  of

SINGAPORE: A 31-year-old man has been arrested after the police found the body of a missing boy at the bank of Kallang River at 8.40am on Wednesday.

By the time the police discovered the body near Block 44 Bendemeer Road, it had already decomposed.

The body was that of six-year-old Muhammad Nor Rashidy Rahmat. The boy's grandmother reported him missing on Monday, saying an acquaintance had taken him five days earlier.

Intensive police investigations led to the arrest of the man in a hotel at Westerhout Road in Geylang. He is believed to be the husband of Rashidy's babysitter.

Residents said they saw police leading him from Block 44 to the crime scene.

Addieriz Md Said, a resident, said: "This morning I saw four CIDs bring a Malay guy with a strip of leather ... moving off from my house under my block, to the restaurant, to the crime scene.

"But I didn't know what was happening and I just followed to see. He was wearing a white shirt, white pants and was a bit plump and had shoulder-length hair."

Police have classified the case as murder, which carries the death penalty.

The man will be charged in court on Thursday. - CNA/TODAY/vm