KTV hostess death: Accused failed to cover up bloody trail
Jiang Yumei, the 32-year-old karaoke hostess accused of killing her roommate, tried to cover her tracks by wiping off the bloodstains in their shared bedroom in Geylang.
The Chinese national allegedly slashed Zhao Jinhua, who was also a karaoke hostess, with a cleaver and landed blows on the 26 year-old victim’s head, neck and face in 2013.
The bloodstains had spluttered across the walls, floor and furniture in the bedroom. But Jiang was not successful in the clean-up job, said a prosecution witness at the hearing of Jiang’s case at the High Court on Friday (19 August).
Lim Chin Chin, a former forensic scientist from the Health Sciences Authority who investigated the case, said, “Jiang had attempted to clean up the scene of the crime. She had wiped the floor and walls of the room but we were still able to find bloodstains.”
Jiang allegedly killed Zhao, also a Chinese national, at their rented flat in Kim Court, Lorong 9 Geylang at between 11 pm, February 11, and 10 am, February 12, 2013. She faces one charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Zhao’s body was discovered near the bed that she shared with Jiang, with her head partially underneath the bed. A piece of Zhao’s scalp with a tuft of her hair was found about 40 centimetres away from her body.
Giving her testimony before Judicial Commissioner Hoo Sheau Peng, Lim said there was bloodstains found on one of the walls in the room, which showed signs of an attempt to wipe them off.
One bloodstain was found about two metres from the floor to a wall, possibly because the 1.56 metre tall Jiang could not reach it, Lim added.
Bloodstains and DNA belonging to the deceased were also found on the pyjamas that Jiang was wearing on the night of the alleged offence.
When asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mohamed Faizal on how the stains ended at the back of the pyjamas, Lim said that it could be due to the way that Jiang stabbed her victim.
“The movement of her hand, when she is pulling the weapon upwards, could cause blood cast offs to fly off the weapon,” she added.
Jiang, who is represented by her lawyer Leo Cheng Suan, is facing a lifetime behind bars or up to 20 years’ jail and a fine if she is found guilty. The trial will resume on Tuesday (23 August).
