Man accused of murdering Felicia Teo remanded for psychiatric assessment after police complete investigations

SINGAPORE: The man accused of murdering teenager Felicia Teo in 2007 will be remanded for psychiatric assessment, after the police told the court on Thursday (Jan 7) that they have completed investigations.

Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa’ee, 35, is accused of causing the death of Ms Teo between 1.39am and 7.20am in a flat on the 10th floor of Block 19, Marine Terrace, on Jun 30, 2007.

He is accused of murdering her with suspected accomplice Ragil Putra Setia Sukmarahjana, who is at large and disabled his social media accounts after the case was first reported in December.

READ: Man charged with murder of Felicia Teo, teen who went missing 13 years ago

The police prosecutor told the court on Thursday that custody for Ahmad Danial is no longer required and asked for him to be remanded for psychiatric assessment.

Defence lawyer Shashi Nathan of Withers KhattarWong said he spoke to the investigating officer on Thursday morning.

"Now that the police have finished investigations, I've requested access to my client," he said. "I would like to place on record that CID (Criminal Investigation Department) has been extremely helpful. Last week, after the mention, they arranged for me to have a Zoom meeting with the accused, so I have spoken to him."

Ahmad Danial, who appeared via video link in a red top, will return to court on Jan 28.

Ms Teo, who would have turned 33 this year, was reported missing on Jul 3, 2007 by her mother. The police said that she was last seen at Mr Ragil's home in Marine Terrace. 

The Lasalle College of the Arts fine arts student could not be found despite extensive investigations and searches launched by her friends and family.

As there were no facts at the time to link the two men to Ms Teo’s disappearance, it was classified as a missing person case and a police gazette was issued to find her.

Ahmad Danial was arrested in December 2020 after new leads surfaced when the case was handed to the CID, with one of Ms Teo's belongings being linked to Ahmad Danial.

The police did not provide any update in court on Thursday on their search for Ms Teo's remains.

Preliminary investigations indicated that she died before the report was lodged in early July 2007, and that the two men had allegedly disposed of her body.

If found guilty of murder, Ahmad Danial could be sentenced to death.