Accused left his DNA behind Sat, Nov 12, 2011 | The New Paper By Zul Othman INVESTIGATORS have discovered the DNA of four unknown men in the rented room of Filipina Roselyn Reyes Pascua, who was stabbed to death in March last year. Testifying at the murder trial of Indian national Gopinathan Nair Remadevi Bijukumar yesterday, forensic scientist Kee Koh Kheng said that DNA were found in two used condoms and among eight pieces of tissue paper in the room. Also retrieved at the scene were traces of Gopinathan's DNA, said Ms Kee. These were found on Ms Pascua's denim hot pants, pink lacy brassiere and the inside of a brown wallet found between the headboard of the bed and the wall, she added. The accused's blood was also found on a sanitary pad left on the dressing table. Ms Pascua was stabbed 10 times in the chest and abdomen, once in the neck and twice in the groin. The body of the 30-year-old, who is believed to have worked here as a prostitute while on a social visit pass, was found lying in a pool of blood in a room at Peony Mansion in Bencoolen Street, in the early hours of March 15 last year. Yesterday, two officers from the Criminal Investigation Department's Special Investigation Section also took the stand. Station Inspectors (SIs) Woon Song Hwee and Shaiful Ali Abdul Rahman testified to arresting Gopinathan on March 17, two days after Ms Pascua's body was discovered. The officers arrested the accused at the Farrer Park MRT station at 4.03pm. Gopinathan tried to resist the officers and fell. He had a cut above the eye as a result, said SI Shaiful. During cross-examination, defence counsel Shashi Nathan said his client tried to flee because he did not know the two men were plainclothes police officers. Instead, he thought he was about to be robbed. SI Shaiful replied: "I showed him my police warrant card and identified myself as a police officer." During a search conducted after the arrest, officers found three bloodstained notes on Gopinathan. Also found in his possession: About $370 in cash and three mobile phones - one of which belonged to Ms Pascua. A Western Union receipt for a transfer of $777.08 to India was also uncovered. The transfer was carried out on the day of his arrest. Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Ng later said this was a notably large amount. Normally, Gopinathan remitted less than $200 to his family in Kerala each month. The court was not told how he acquired the money. What is known, however, is that the shipyard worker earns $320 monthly. A colleague at Pan Greatways Engineering, Mr Prasad Varavara, told the court that Gopinathan came here in 2007. The former was a friend of the accused's uncle whom he knew while he was a welding supervisor in Dubai. Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Prasad said in Malayalam: "He worked seven days a week and each day, he earned $16." To earn extra cash, Mr Prasad said Gopinathan would work overtime, earning $3 each hour. "He is a quiet man...an average worker who comes from a very poor family in Kerala," the witness added. Gopinathan did not deny stabbing Ms Pascua, but claimed he was provoked as he and the deceased had traded blows on the day of the incident. On Tuesday, the prosecution showed the court still images taken from a security camera showing Gopinathan entering the lift of Peony Mansion with Ms Pascua at about 7.10pm on March 14. He was seen leaving the nine-storey apartment block alone nine minutes later. Gopinathan, 36, is accused of murdering Ms Pascua sometime between 7pm and 8pm that day. She was stabbed in the neck, chest, abdomen and groin with a "tool with a sharp cutting edge". The fatal blow came from a stab to the chest, which plunged 10cm deep, cutting through the left lung before penetrating the heart. The weapon was never recovered. He faces the death penalty if found guilty. The hearing continues today. zothman@sph.com.sg This article was first published in The New Paper.