Indonesian maid found dead in building water tank in Singapore

Indonesian maid found dead in building water tank in Singapore

2011-05-18 05:21:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

SINGAPORE (BNO NEWS) -- An Indonesian migrant who had been working as a maid in Singapore was murdered and found dead in a water tank at a high-rise building complex, officials said Tuesday.

Ruliyawati, 30, from the Patean sub-district, Kendal regency, Central Java, was found when Singapore police arrived at the scene at around 10 a.m. local time, in one of the building's eight water tanks on the floor that leads to the roof, the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore told Antara news agency.

According to witnesses living on the top floor of the 15-story building, shouts and fighting were heard in the morning hours, blood stains were found on the stairs leading to the roof, and some of the neighbors' water had strangely become yellowish.

The time of Ruliyawati's death remains uncertain as some reports indicate that she was found dead at the time of the police's arrival, while others said officials declared her death at 1 p.m. local time.

A Bangladeshi man, 27, was found standing near the blood-stained water tank and was arrested as the main murder suspect.

Emil Harry Dewantara, the Indonesian Embassy's third secretary for services and protection of residents said Singapore police were handling the case, as they were in complete charge of the incident, while the Embassy followed the process closely.

Indonesia's PT Jasa Putra Jaya, the Central Java-based company that helped Ruliyawati get employed in Singapore, was informed of the incident.

The Embassy also said the woman's dead body is still subject to an autopsy, and her repatriation to her family would soon be possible.

Ruliyawati had been working as a house maid for the Yang Yuan Yu family on the sixth floor of the building located on Block 686B Woodlands Drive 73, Singapore since 2008, after arriving to the Southeast Asian country the previous year.

According to reports, the Yang Yuan Yu family had previously asked the building's management to move the Bangladeshi man from the block. He had been working as part of the block's cleaning service team.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-05-18