SINGAPORE, Jan 25 — The father of two 11-year-old boys found dead at a playground in Upper Bukit Timah was charged with murder yesterday.
Xavier Yap Jung Houn, 48, faces one charge of murdering one of his sons, Ethan Yap E Chern, between 4.23pm and 6.25pm last Friday at a covered canal near a playground along Greenridge Crescent.
No other charges were filed in relation to the death of his other son, whom The Straits Times had identified as Ashton Yap.
Court documents did not specify whether any weapon was allegedly used.
Yap appeared in court via video-link from his place of remand dressed in a white polo shirt. He remained silent as his case was being heard.
Under the penal code, the offence of murder carries the death penalty.
The police previously said that they had received a call for assistance from Yap at 6.25pm that day.
Police officers arrived and found the two boys lying motionless near the playground and were pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
“The police followed up on all possible leads and conducted round-the-clock investigations, which eventually led to the arrest of the man,” they said in an earlier statement.
The district judge granted the prosecution’s application for Yap to be remanded for a week with permission to be taken out for investigations.
The police prosecution said that he is needed for scene investigation and to recover exhibits.
Yap’s lawyer Anil Singh Sandhu did not object, but said: “I believe the media is here this morning. I’m urging the media to give the family some space and privacy to deal with the loss.”
Yap will return to court on January 31.
The 2m-wide canal where the boys’ bodies were found cuts through a small, secluded playground at the edge of a residential neighbourhood, and leads to a forested plot of land behind it.
Residents in Greenridge Crescent had told TODAY that the entire playground and the surrounding forested area were cordoned off by the police from around 7pm last Friday night.
One resident said that she saw more than a dozen police vehicles and ambulances and many officers combing through the area with searchlights and search dogs.
On Sunday, members of the public lined the canal with candles and flowers. Representatives from six religious organisations also held an inter-faith prayer session. — TODAY
