Overkill of Foreign Talents!

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Murder cases are not new in Singapore - reported or un-reported ones alike. The prominent ones might be the infamous Adrian Lim murder case in the 1980s or the Curry Murder case in 1984, but Singapore has always been a relatively safe country with rather healthy statistics in Crime & Safety Reports. 

However, with the influx of people into this tiny red dot, it seems that there has been a string of murders committed, some rather gruesome and heinous cases occurring one after another. Well, a part of it may also be the credit of social media reporting, but these days it is not uncommon or shocking (anymore) to read about more and more grisly murder cases in the news. More alarmingly, most of the cases involve non-locals.

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Let's take a look at this timeline / summary hereinbelow.-

Jan 2002 - Orchard Towers' double murder - involving British expat Michael McCrea who, with the help of his girlfriend Audrey Ong, murdered Kho Nai Guan and girlfriend Lan Ya Ming.

Oct 2004 - Huang Na's murder case - an 8-year old Chinese girl who was murdered by her mother's colleague, one Malaysian male named Took Leng How.

Jun 2005 - Kallang River Body parts case - Chinese national was dismembered by lover and supervisor Leong Siew Chor, apparently a crime of passion.

Sep 2005 - Body Parts in Bags found near Orchard MRT - well the body parts of Filipina maid Jane Paragan La Puebla were abandoned near Orchard MRT and MacRitchie Reservoir, to  be exact. Her executioner? Fellow "sister" cum Filipina maid Guen Aguilar .

Oct 2005 - Indonesian maid pushed old lady out window - maid Barokah pushed 75-year old woman out of her bedroom window in the Chai Chee flat she was working in.

Mar 2007 - Soup Spoon Supervisor killed - Soup Spoon Supervisor Tan Guanhua was stabbed to death by his Chinese subordinate Wang Zhenjun.

Dec 2007 - Corpse in Stuffed Cardboard - another crime of passion in which Bangaladeshi worker Kamrul Quddus murdered his Indonesian-maid girlfriend Yulia Afriyanti, stuffed her in a cardboard box and left it in an uncompleted condominium unit at an uncompleted worksite.

Feb 2008 - Quarrel turned Fatal - it seemed that a violent quarrel led to the murder of unemployed Filipino Bernard Alojado, by fellow Filipino Mark Laguerta.

Sep 2008 - Yishun murder case - Chinese national Wang Zhijian killed three women in a flat in Yishun - lover Zhang Meng, her daughter Feng Jianyu and flatmate Yang Jie.

Apr 2009 - Robbery turned Murder - Chinese national Wang Wenfeng killed cabby Yuen Swee Hong by inflicting deep stab wounds during an attempted robbery. He was actually spared the death sentence at a re-trial!

Dec 2009 - Nigerian lover killed local woman - A lover's fight turned ugly when Nigerian National Amanchukwu Chukwuma beat his Singaporean girlfriend Liu Shujuan to death and left her body to decompose in her Bukit Panjang flat.

Mar 2010 - Filipina Prostitute stabbed to death - the deceased who worked in the entertainment line (believed to be a prostitute) was stabbed more than 10 times in the chest by former shipyad worker, an Indian national named Bijukumar Gopinathan. This man actually escaped Singapore's death row!

Nov 2010 - 12 year old Murdered by Indonesian maid - young, handicapped Linda Li Yi Ying was murdered by her Indonesian maid in her Hougang flat.

May 2011 - Body in Water Tank - the body of an Indonesian maid, Mdm Ruliyawati was found in the water tank at the rooftop of Block 686B in Woodlands. It was speculated that her Bangladeshi worker lover Repon Mostafa murdered her and placed her in there, but a Coroner's inquest suggested otherwise.

Nov 2013 - Teenaged Girl Killed by Maid - a 16-year old teenaged girl was found stabbed to death in her Tampines flat by Indonesian maid Tuti Aeliyah.

Dec 2013 - Headless Body in Whampoa River -  Indian National Jasvinder Kaur's headless body was found floating in Whampoa River. Suspected and charged for the murder are her husband, also an Indian National Harvinder Singh and one forklift driver, Gursharan Singh.

Mar 2014 - Socialite Murdered by Maid - Socialite Nancy Gan was found dead in her gorgeous swimming pool, murdered by her Indonesian maid Dewi Sukowati.

Mar 2014 - Elderly Lady Murdered by Myanmese Maid - in the same month same year, an 85 year old lady was murdered by her maid Than Than Win at Springdale Condominium.

Jun 2014 - Body Parts Found in Luggage - Pakistani male's body parts were found in a luggage along Jalan Besar area. Two Pakistani suspects, Rashid and Rizwan have been arrested.

Photosource: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-
urban-jungle/body-stuffed-in-bag-at-syed-alwi-road-search-continues-for-mans-legs

The list above is not exhaustive, and may not be comprehensive enough at this point in time. In the long list of murders in a short span of merely a decade, there are crimes of passion, maid murders and also other mysterious causes of killings.  The list has not even included fatal accidents caused by foreign drivers such as the infamous Ferrari crash case, or the cases where foreign bus captains ran pedestrians down resulting in deaths.

Well, not only does such a stunning increase in the number of murder killings shock the nation and makes one wonder what the country is coming to, it also casts doubts as to whether Singapore may still be termed "a safe city". 

Are we still safe walking the streets at night alone? Are we still safe helping odd strangers (especially foreign ones) out such as showing them the way, etc at night? The next time we hear pleas or cries for help in the middle of the night, or chopping sounds in the faint distance , should we start wondering if it might be another murder case taking place?

Honestly, I do not have the answer to the above questions. It is really sad to note that these murder cases are happening here in Singpore now, at such an alarmingly high rate too. Worse, the people here are starting to accept it as part of the now-nation, and becoming desensitized to it! 

At such a crucial time when the population is increasing, and unfortunately so are the murder cases, it is very disheartening to note that the law has gone soft. More and more murderers are pardoned from the death row and merely given life imprisonment with caning, no thanks to the sudden revel for "Human Rights" belief at this juncture. Yes, at a time where the law should remain strict so that perhaps people would think twice before chopping each other up on our turfs in future!

Lastly, whilst it is vital to seek foreign talent's assistance in this growing nation, it is rather grueling to note that (social and racial issues aside) we have also inevitably imported in a good number of Foreign Trouble. Well done, I am sure this does wonders for the country and its image!