19-year-old charged with murdering his father in Yishun
A general view of Yishun Avenue 4. (Image: Google Street View)
SINGAPORE: A 19-year-old teenager was charged in court on Wednesday (Oct 12) with murdering his father two days earlier.
Seah Jie Kai Sylesnar is accused of committing murder by causing the death of Seah Wee Teck Eddie, 47, between the fourth and fifth floor of Block 653, Yishun Avenue 4. The act allegedly occurred at about 7.05pm on Oct 10.
The police said in an earlier statement that they received a call for help at about 7.05pm that day.
They found the victim lying motionless outside a residential unit along Yishun Avenue 4. He was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
He was arrested at the scene.
The teenager is represented by lawyers Sunil Sudheesan and Joyce Khoo from Quahe Woo & Palmer.
The police prosecutor asked for the accused to be remanded for a week with permission to take him out for investigations and to revisit the scene.
When asked if there was a need for a gag order, with reference to his siblings, the prosecutor said he had no instruction on this so far.
Mr Sudheesan made three applications for various types of access to his client - unlimited access, limited access and permission to see the accused person in the presence of an investigation officer to explain his rights to him.
He said he had made these applications multiple times before the same judge, District Judge Terence Tay. He said he wished to speak to his client about his rights under the law as well as possible defences to the murder charge.
Judge Tay said to go into the possible defences to murder was more than the basic procedural rights and asked how the lawyer was going to brief him if he had not taken instructions yet.
The police prosecutor said the case was at the beginning stage and asked the lawyer to speak directly to the investigation officer regarding access, which should occur only after investigations are completed.
Judge Tay ordered Mr Sudheesan to make written submissions and give them to the prosecution by this afternoon. He asked the prosecution to have a deputy public prosecutor present for the case and adjourned the case to Thursday morning for arguments on the defence counsel's access to the teenager.
If found guilty of murder, the teenager could be sentenced to death.
