Father of twin boys found dead in Upper Bukit Timah canal charged with murder

[The_King]

SINGAPORE - The father of the 11-year-old twin boys who were found dead in a canal in Upper Bukit Timah has been charged with murder.

On Monday (Jan 24), Xavier Yap Jung Houn, 48, appeared before a district court via video link to have one charge read out to him.

He is accused of murdering Ethan Yap E Chern at the Greenridge Crescent playground on Friday (Jan 21) between 4.25pm and 6.25pm.

 

Only one charge was tendered in court on Monday morning.

The offence of murder carries the death penalty.

Yap's lawyer, Mr Anil Singh Sandhu, told the court the family was grieving the loss of the two young children.

 

 

On Saturday, the police said it had received a call at about 6.25pm on Friday from a man asking for help at the playground.

 

When officers arrived, the man's two sons were found lying motionless nearby.

They were pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.

 

It is understood the bodies were found in a large and deep canal that cuts across the playground in a corner of the quiet and leafy private housing estate of terrace and semi-detached houses.

The twins were said to have special needs and were believed to be students of a school in the Eng Kong estate area.

Yap's case will be mentioned in court again on Jan 31.