Indonesian charged with Chinatown murder asks to be prosecuted in Indonesia as S'pore has death penalty
Claudia Tan
The Straits Times
Oct 25, 2025
A 41-year-old man was handed a capital charge on Oct 25 of killing a woman in a hotel in South Bridge Road.
Indonesian Salehuddin is accused of murdering a 38-year-old Indonesian woman, Ms Nurdia Rahmah Rery, who is believed to be his wife, on Oct 24 at the Capri by Fraser China Square hotel.
Salehuddin was said to have caused the death of the woman in Room 703 of the hotel between 3am and 5am, according to charge sheets.
Appearing in court via video link, Salehuddin, who was dressed in a red polo tee, had his charge read to him in Bahasa Indonesia by an interpreter.
When asked if he had anything to say, Salehuddin wanted to know if he could be prosecuted and sentenced in Indonesia instead.
District Judge Tan Jen Tse said that the case was still in its early stages and that he would not be accepting any application at this juncture.
He also asked for Salehuddin to be remanded for psychiatric observation for three weeks.
Speaking through an interpreter, Salehuddin said: "I object, Your Honour. The punishment is a death sentence."
The police said on Oct 24 that Salehuddin had gone to Bukit Merah East Neighbourhood Police Centre at 7.40am to inform officers that he had killed his wife.
Officers found her lying motionless in the room at the hotel. She was pronounced dead by paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
Salehuddin faces the death penalty if he is convicted of murder.
This is the fifth reported murder in 2025.
In September, a woman died following a violent attack over a noise dispute between neighbours in Yishun Central.
The alleged assailant, a 66-year-old man, was charged with murder.
