NSW: Uni student accused of murdering two flatmates

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-2009
NSW: Uni student accused of murdering two flatmates

By Margaret Scheikowski

SYDNEY, Aug 31 AAP - A Singaporean scholarship student is accused of murdering his
two flatmates by bludgeoning them with a baseball bat and stabbing them, a jury has been
told.

But Ram Puneet Tiwary, now 30, told police he was asleep and woke to hear screams and
a hitting sound before discovering the two bloodied bodies in their Sydney flat.

Tiwary has pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to murdering Chow Lyang Tay
and Poh Chuan Tan, both 26, on September 15, 2003, at their Kingsford flat.

On Monday, the jury was told the three were Singaporeans, studying engineering at the
University of NSW.

Tiwary's barrister, David Dalton SC, made various admissions on his behalf, including
that he had bought a baseball bat two days before the murder.

He was on a scholarship from the Singapore armed services and under an agreement his
fees and an allowance were paid.

But he was required to study full-time, although he did not re-enrol for one of his
semesters, and he had failed some subjects but told the army he had passed.

He also admitted that police found a note in his bedroom, in Mr Tay's writing, which
set out a $5,054 debt owed by Tiwary.

He further agreed he was to take over paying the $2,172 monthly rent from two days
before the murders, but this was never paid.

In the crown opening address, John Kiely SC said these factors resulted in this being
a "stressful time" for Tiwary.

At 2.20pm on September 15, Tiwary made a triple-zero call, saying there had been two
murders at the flat, that he had been in his room and his friends were lying dead outside.

The victims had extensive head injuries and stab wounds to the neck, with one forensic
expert saying the former were the most severe he had seen in his 20 years' experience.

Tiwary, who had dried blood on his hands, was observed by police to be agitated, shaking
and rambling.

Mr Kiely said both victims had money in their wallets and nothing was reported missing
from the unit.

"It would appear that robbery was not a motive in this particular case," he said.

Mr Dalton is expected to give a defence opening address on Tuesday at the trial before
Justice Peter Johnson.

AAP mss/evt/ldj/cdh

KEYWORD: TIWARY

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