Horror find in Orchard Road

• Woman's severed head, arms, legs in bag
• Other parts found at MacRitchie Reservoir

By Tanya Fong, Tracy Sua Sept 10, 2005 The Straits Times

FIRST, a cleaner rang the police about a blue and red oblong sports bag left unattended at a pavement near Orchard MRT station.

In it were three plastic bags containing the severed head of a woman with long black hair, her arms and hands, and her legs and feet.

That was about 1.45pm.

Then, a civil servant rang the police about a black trolley bag left unattended along a footpath in MacRitchie Reservoir.

In it was the rest of her body - in her undergarments.

That was about 6.10pm.

Yesterday's events seemed like a replay of the Kallang River body parts murder, when Chinese national Liu Hong Mei, 22, was found in pieces along the river bank on June 16.

After her upper torso and lower torso were recovered, her head and calves were found in bags at the Tuas incinerator plant two days later. Her feet were never recovered. The alleged killer, her supervisor Leong Siew Chor, 50, is now awaiting trial for murder.

In yesterday's case, it is understood that the dead woman, a young Asian, was only slightly decomposed, indicating that she was killed not more than two days ago.

Cleaner Maria Yee Marutham, 41, who came across the sports bag lying at a corner of the mosaic mural wall near the MRT station's exit, thought it contained a mannequin at first.

She saw black hair when she unzipped the bag - and then she saw a face. That was when she dropped the bag and sounded the alarm to her co-workers. 'I saw part of a face. I was very, very scared,' she said.

The head was in a red plastic bag, while the arms and legs were in two black trash bags.

The corner is popular with lovers at night as it is dimly lit. Youths with skateboards also gather there.

At the scene, police were tight-lipped about investigations, giving no details about the woman other than that she had long black hair.

A crowd started growing outside the police cordon as word of the find spread. The name Liu Hong Mei could be heard as the chatter grew. Likewise, there were shocked exclamations that so grisly a find surfaced in so public a place.

Held at bay by riot police, the crowd watched as a forensic team pored over what was in the bag.

Officers were seen taking away video tapes, believed to be footage from the close-circuit TV cameras in the Orchard MRT station.

By 6.30 pm, there was no sign at all that anything untoward had happened there. The Special Investigation Section police team had moved - to MacRitchie Reservoir.

Civil servant Alvin Lim Seng Leong, 40, had just been dropped off by his colleagues at the reservoir carpark. While they went jogging, he made his way to the Lornie Road bus stop to go home to Ang Mo Kio.

Along the footpath, which cuts in front of the reservoir canteen, he saw the bag. He had heard about the grisly Orchard Road find on the radio earlier, and something told him this was no ordinary bag.

Said Mr Lim: 'I felt very uneasy. I had a gut feel
it was linked to the other body parts.'

Frightened, he went back to look for his colleagues. They told the MacRitchie Reservoir canteen operator, who called the police.

A trembling Mr Lim told reporters: 'We did not dare open the luggage. I never expected to be the one to find the missing part.'

Police are now trying to establish the identity of the victim. Anyone with information should call 1800-255-0000.