Legless body found in suitcase in Singapore: 2 sentenced to hang

Rasheed Muhammad (in red) being escorted by the police at Rowell Road, on June 19, 2014. STRAITS TIMES FILE PHOTO

Murder suspect Ramzan Rizwan (in red) being escorted by investigators outside the lodging house at 6 Rowell Road on June 19, 2014. STRAITS TIMES FILE PHOTO

SINGAPORE—Two tissue-paper sellers from Pakistan, who killed a compatriot to recover money they lost to him in a game of cards, were on Friday sentenced to hang after they were found guilty of murder.

The pair, Rasheed Muhammad, 45, and Ramzan Rizwan, 27, smothered Mr Muhammad Noor on June 11, 2014 in his room at their lodging house in Rowell Road.

After taking $6,000 from the 59-year-old victim, the pair sawed off his legs and packed the parts of his body into two suitcases.

One of the suitcases, a black bag containing the legs of the victim, was left in the Jalan Kubor Muslim cemetery near Victoria Street, more than 1km away from where the murder took place.

But as the two men were trying to pull the other grey suitcase containing his upper body to the same location, one of the wheels broke.

They abandoned the case along Syed Alwi Road when blood started dripping from it as they tried to lift it.

Hours later, an 81-year-old man found the bag and tried to push it to a police station.

Several passers-by went to help him, but when they learnt there was a body inside, one of them called the police.

The duo were arrested the next day and Rasheed led police to the bag containing the victim’s legs in the cemetery.

Each pointed to the other as the man responsible for the killing.

Ramzan said he got scared while using a shirt to smother the victim and ran back to his room. He said Rasheed later came and told him to help get rid of the body.

Rasheed’s account is that Ramzan kicked him out of the room and when the door opened, he saw a string around the neck of the unconscious victim.