Maid found tied to tree in Tampines field was likely killed by husband: coroner
SINGAPORE — A domestic worker whose body was found tied in an open field along Tampines Road last September is believed to have been killed by her husband, a state coroner stated on Tuesday (27 August).
Jonalyn Alvarez Raviz, 34, was found tied to a tree by a strap around her neck. The Filipina had left her employer’s residence at Pasir Ris Drive 4 on 2 September but was discovered dead only four days later.
According to media reports, Raviz’s husband is a Bangladeshi named Raju Dhaly. He left Singapore for his home country a day after her death.
In delivering her findings, State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam noted that the yellow ligature found around Raviz’s neck resembled the strap from a sling bag owned by Raju.
Raviz’s blood had also been found on Raju’s clothing, which was recovered from his residence by police after he fled.
“Additionally, Ms Raviz’s husband’s sudden departure from Singapore was unexplained,” said Ponnampalam, noting that a warrant for Raju’s arrest had been issued and that “efforts are ongoing to trace his whereabouts”.
“In the circumstances, I find Ms Raviz’s death to be an unlawful killing, likely perpetrated by her husband,” she added.
An abusive marriage
Raviz and Raju were married in 2015. At the time, Raju worked as a process maintenance worker and resided in a dormitory at Jalan Papan. He had been working here since 2007 and the couple would meet every Sunday.
Raviz’s employer at the time told the court that the former was unhappy in her marriage and had described her husband as abusive. He would also allegedly take away all of Raviz’s salary.
The maid also told her employer that she intended to end her marriage as she had caught Raju having affairs on multiple occasions in the past. She had also planned to end her employment in Singapore and return to the Philippines in September last year, without informing her husband.
In June last year, Raviz told her employer that her husband had threatened to kill her if she left him. Acting on the information, the employer informed Raju’s company of his threat.
Met husband before disappearing
On 2 September last year – a Sunday – Raviz met Raju at about 9.am at the Pasir Ris Bus Interchange. CCTV footage showed Raju carrying a yellow-strapped sling bag at the time they met.
The couple then headed to Pasir Ris Park. After leaving the park just after 3pm, the pair took a train to Tampines MRT station before hopping on a bus in the direction of Tampines Road.
Ez-link records showed that Raviz alighted from the public bus along Tampines Road, before Defu Lane 2.
Checks with a taxi company also revealed that at 4.57pm, Raju boarded a taxi along Defu Lane 1 and alighted at his dormitory on Jalan Papan. He was no longer carrying the yellow-strapped bag upon his return.
Raju was seen leaving the dormitory with a luggage about 45 minutes later.
At around 7pm, Raju visited a travel agency located along Kitchener Road where he bought a ticket for a flight bound for Dhaka. Later that night, he called a colleague to say that he would not be returning to the dormitory that day.
He left for Dhaka the next morning without informing his colleagues about his plan to leave Singapore.
Meanwhile, Raviz’s employers lodged a missing person report earlier that afternoon after she failed to return home. Raju’s company filed a missing person’s report on 4 September after he failed to show up for work.
Body found decomposed
Raviz’s body was found only on the morning of 6 September after police officers searched the forested area along Tampines Road. By then her body, which was tied to small tree by a strap around the neck, was assessed to be in an advanced stage of decomposition.
The cause of death was certified as being consistent with a compressive neck injury on a decomposed body.
A search of Raju’s residence uncovered a blue polo shirt, a pair of jeans and sandals, which resembled those worn by him on 2 September. The items were all stained with mud.
A crumpled ComfortDelGro taxi receipt showing the same date was also found in a pocket of the jeans.
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