Ah Neh Murder Ram Tiwary Says - I NOT GUILTY

At the start of this retrial on Monday for the murder of his two flatmates in 2003, Ram Puneet Tiwary stood up in court and when asked to enter a plea replied confidently: 'Not guilty.'

Those words began a three-week trial in which a Sydney court will once again try to determine what happened that year on Sept 15, when police were called to the apartment where Tiwary lived and found his flatmates dead.

The men, Mr Tony Tan Poh Chuan, 27, and Mr Tay Chow Lyang, 26, had been bludgeoned to death and Tiwary, then 23, was found shaking with blood on his hands. He was convicted of murder, but a retrial was ordered by the Court of Appeal after it ruled that the trial judge had instructed the jury improperly with regard to how they should view certain pieces of evidence.

On Monday, however, the prosecution in the case said it would show beyond a reasonable doubt that Tiwary murdered Tan and Tay, and that the issue of rental for the apartment he shared with the two students was at the centre of the case.

Crown Prosecutor John Kiely alleged that Tiwary had not been paying his share of the rent of the suburban Barker Street apartment where the men lived, going by notes found in Mr Tay's handwriting. The notes stated outstanding sums owed by Tiwary.

Mr Tay had been in charge of settling the A$2,172.60 (S$2,640) rent each month, before collecting his housemates' share. However, Mr Tan and Mr Tay were due to complete their studies and return to Singapore at the end of the semester, leaving Tiwary in the 'stressful situation' of taking on the rent himself, said Mr Kiely. He added: 'There were no more time-outs.'

Referring to items found on the victims, the prosecutor pointed out that both the dead men's wallets appeared intact and contained cash. 'It would appear that robbery was not a motive in this case,' he said.

When the authorities arrived at the scene, they found Tiwary running towards them. He told them that he had been asleep and that he heard his flatmates screaming. When he later came out of his bedroom, they were lying motionless, covered in blood, he said.

Forensic examinations found Mr Tan's blood and strands of hair on a baseball bat owned by Tiwary. Spots of blood found on Tiwary also came from Mr Tan. Mr Kiely said that although the evidence of the case is largely circumstantial, this did not necessarily mean that it was a weak case. He said: 'Sometimes, circumstantial cases can be more convincing and more powerful.'

The case, scheduled to run for three weeks, resumes this morning, when the 12 jury members will be taken to the scene of the murders to get a clearer idea of the apartment's layout, as well its surrounding areas. Video evidence of Tiwary being interviewed by the police will also be screened in court.

I Am Sleeping Lah!