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SINGAPORE -- A Filipino man was charged in Singapore on Monday with the murder of a compatriot, police said, and will face death by hanging if convicted.
Mark Laguerta, 29, appeared in court and was formally charged with the murder of Bernard Alojado, 27, a police spokeswoman said.
The police said officers found the victim lying face down on his bed Saturday morning wearing a pair of shorts. He had injuries to his upper body.
They said the accused and the victim lived in the same flat.
Laguerta works in a shop at Changi airport, according to Neal Imperial, first secretary at the Philippine embassy in Singapore.
The victim was staying in Singapore on a tourist visa while looking for work, the diplomat told Agence France-Presse.
Representatives of the Philippine embassy in Singapore attended the “first mention” of the charges against Laguerta at a Singapore court.
Singapore rules forbid any visits to Laguerta, not even from his wife. But representatives of the Philippine embassy said they will request permission to see him and offer him help.
This is the latest case of a Filipino in Singapore facing a possible death sentence for allegedly killing a fellow Filipino.
In 1995, Flor Contemplacion, was hanged for the 1991 killing of her fellow domestic helper Delia Magat and her Singaporean ward Nicholas Wang. Contemplacion’s case prompted the enactment of the Migrant Workers’ Rights Act.
Currently, Guen Aguilar is in jail, charged with the grisly killing of Jane La Puebla, in 2005.
