Man charged with gruesome murder in Jurong West

UPDATED (2 April Monday, 12pm)

38-year-old Gabriel Lee Haw Ling was charged on Sunday with the murder of a 25-year-old Singaporean woman who was found with her eyes gouged out in Jurong West on Saturday.

The body of Elsie Lie Lek Chee also had multiple stab wounds and lay on a blood-soaked mattress in the bedroom of a five-room flat in Block 633 of Jurong West Street 65 that she shared with Lee, a divorcee. She was pronounced dead by paramedics at 7:30am.

According to several local media reports, police combed through the grass patch at the foot of the HDB block and recovered more than 40 items -- including eyeballs believed to be from the victim. Other things found include a knife and several household items.

Many have speculated that the sadistic killing could have been modeled after the recent Channel 8 TV series “Unriddle 2”, where a similar mutilation scene was shown in the that episode aired last Tuesday.

The Straits Times reported that one of the flat’s tenants called the police at about 6:45am after finding a bloody trail at the couple's room door.

According to reports, the couple, who rented the room some three months ago, had started quarrelling on Friday evening. Neighbours said they did not see the woman coming to the flat for the last two months.

The police were called in by a concerned tenant at around 1am on Saturday. However, the heated argument continued after the police officers left.

Lee, also a Singaporean, is next scheduled to appear in court on 5 April, following a psychiatric assessment, reported The New Paper.