On 20 September 1981, Kalingam Mariappan, a 45-year-old boilerman, was last seen entering a lorry with two men after the three of them had drinks and a third man at the coffee shop, and he was missing for two days before his wife reported him missing. The two men last seen with Kalingam were eventually brought in for questioning by the police, and one of them admitted that Kalingam was dead and they were responsible for assaulting him and setting his body on fire. Kalingam's body was later found at the East Coast Parkway, and the two suspects - 22-year-old lorry driver Ramu Annadavascan and 16-year-old news vendor Rathakrishnan Ramasamy - were both charged with murder. Eventually the trial court sentenced Ramu to death for murder while the other, Rathakrishnan, was imprisoned indefinitely under the President's Pleasure since he was still underaged when he killed Kalingam.
Disappearance and death
On 22 September 1981, A. Supalatmi reported to the police that her husband, 45-year-old boilerman Kalingam Mariappan, had gone missing for two days. According to Supalatmi, Kalingam had last left home on 20 September to go to work, but never came back. The police therefore conduct investigations into the disappearance of Kalingam. One of the witnesses questioned was 18-year-old N. Selvarajoo, a distant relative of the missing man. Selvarajoo told police that he last saw Kalingam at a coffee shop, drinking beer with three other young men, two of whom he identified as 16-year-old news vendor Rathakrishnan Ramasamy and 22-year-old lorry driver Ramu Annadavascan. The third young man last seen with Kalingam was later identified as Perumal Ramasamy, who was later questioned by police.
Perumal said that after their drinks session, Ramu invited them to go to Changi Airport for more drinks, as at that time, Terminal 1 had just opened and it was a popular spot for Singaporeans to hang out. At first, Kalingam and Perumal declined as Perumal wanted to head home while Kalingam wanted to go to work. Perumal said that after Ramu assured Kalingam he would bring him to work after the trip to Changi Airport, Kalingam relented and therefore, Kalingam entered Ramu's lorry with Ramu and Rathakrishnan. According to Perumal, who did not join them and went back home, it was the last time he saw Kalingam alive.
On 24 September, both Ramu and Rathakrishnan were brought into custody for questioning. During interrogation, Rathakrishnan confessed to the police that Kalingam was dead and the body was located at the forest in East Coast Parkway. Rathakrishnan led the police to the site the next day, where the charred corpse of a man in a high state of decomposition was found, as well as an identity card belonging to Kalingam and a tin filled with leftoer petrol. The case was therefore classified as murder, and Inspector Leong Kong Hong took over the investigations. The body was later identified as the missing man, 45-year-old Kalingam Mariappan. Rathakrishnan and Ramu were both officially placed under arrest and charged with murder.
This was not the first time Ramu faced a murder charge. He was once charged in 1979 for killing a boy Aga Khan Suratte during a fight between two large groups, but he was eventually let off with a S$230 fine after his murder charge was reduced to one of affray. Just five months before getting his second charge of murder, Ramu had punched a policeman Khoo Kwek Leong during a Thaipusam festival when he got into a fight over a lost drum, and he was fined S$500 for an assault charge.
Murder trial
Prosecution's case
On 26 June 1984, both 24-year-old Ramu Annadavascan and 18-year-old Rathakrishnan Ramasamy stood trial at the High Court for the murder of 45-year-old Kalingam Mariappan. Spencer Gwee was in charge of the prosecution's case, while both Ramu and Rathakrishnan were represented by Subhas Anandan and R Palakrishnan during the court proceedings. Coincidentally, Anandan was the lawyer who had once represented him during the first two court cases Ramu got involved before.