T. Maniam | |
|---|---|
| Born | Madavamani s/o Thuraisamy Thagavelu c. 1943 |
| Died | 21 April 1999 (aged 55) |
| Cause of death | Murdered |
| Nationality | Indian Singaporean |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer | Singapore Police Force (1963–1993) |
| Known for | Murder victim |
| Spouses |
Laxhmi
(m. 1966; div. 1991)Julaiha Begum (m. 1991) |
| Children | Two sons (with Laxhmi) and two stepdaughters (from Julaiha's first marriage) |
On the early morning of 21 April 1999, a 55-year-old former police officer named T. Maniam was ambushed by two men who used weapons to brutally beat him to death on the road between his house and his neighbour's home in Phoenix Garden, Singapore. His death was witnessed by his elder stepdaughter and one of his neighbours, together with the neighbour's maid. Following police investigations, three suspects, including Maniam's second wife Julaiha Begum, were arrested for the alleged murder, and the remaining two suspects, Loganatha Venkatesan and Chandran Rajagopal, were identified to be the men seen at the scene of crime.
When the trial of the three killers started in December 1999, it was charged that Julaiha, who was having a soured relationship with her husband and got into legal disputes with him, and it was said that she plotted to kill her husband with the two other defendants and another two men (one still at large as of today and another had backed out of the plan before the murder) in order to get full ownership of the flat and the proceeds from the sale of the house. On 14 March 2000, the High Court found all three guilty of murder and sentenced them to death by hanging. The trio were hanged in Changi Prison on 16 February 2001 after the loss of their appeals against the death sentence.