British double murder suspect McCrea to escape death penalty
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
SINGAPORE: British double murder suspect Michael McCrea will escape the gallows.
Prosecutors have offered to reduce the murder charges to culpable homicide.
McCrea is accused of strangling his driver and the driver's girlfriend in 2002.
The double murder case enters its home stretch with the prosecution offering to reduce the 2 murder charges in response to representations made by the defence in April.
46-year-old McCrea is alleged to have killed his driver, Kho Nai Guan, and the driver's girlfriend, Lan Ya Ming, in his apartment.
Their decomposed bodies were later found in an abandoned car at a carpark in Orchard Towers.
This reduction to 2 lesser charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder means McCrea will escape the death penalty.
If convicted under the revised charge, McCrea could face up to 10 years jail or a fine, or both.
Defence lawyer Kelvin Lim told Channel NewsAsia that his client is considering the offer.
The defence lawyer is expecting to get a written confirmation of acceptance from McCrea on Monday.
If this happens, then the 5-day trial that is originally set to start on June 26th will not proceed, and he will write to the authorities to fix a date for his client to plead guilty to the reduced charges.
The Court will also take into consideration one of two charges for disposal of evidence relating to the crime.
McCrea's 23-year-old girlfriend then, Audrey Ong, was jailed for 12 years in 2003 after she admitted to helping McCrea dispose of the bodies. - CNA /dt
The Peacemaker says: Blatant favouritism on the run again.