Tanglin Halt double murders

On 24 May 1989, a stabbing occurred outside a flat in Tanglin Halt, Singapore, resulting in the deaths of two young men: Mohamed Johar Selamat, 33, a technician with an offshore oil company, and Mohd Said Abdul Majid, 29, a machinist at a Jurong oil tools company. The two men were friends. Mohamed Johar's family said he had gone to the flat to retrieve a Walkman from his ex-girlfriend, who lived there, while Mohd Said's family believed he had accompanied his friend.

The flat's owner, 78-year-old Ahmad Saibon, told police he lived there with his grandson and two others, including Mohamed Johar's ex-girlfriend, a 23-year-old divorcee, and her boyfriend. According to Ahmad, the two deceased men approached the boyfriend and a dispute broke out over the Walkman, which escalated into a stabbing in which the boyfriend fatally knifed both men before fleeing. Neighbours reported hearing screaming and shouting, and one saw a victim lying in a pool of blood outside her flat.

On 2 June 1989, police arrested the suspect, a former seaman named Ithinin Kamari, then 32, after establishing his identity. He was charged with murder the following day.

At trial, which began on 6 January 1992 in the High Court before Judicial Commissioner Amarjeet Singh and Justice T S Sinnathuray, Ithinin's girlfriend Zanaria Aziz, previously in a relationship with Mohamed Johar, testified that she had tried to stop Ithinin from taking a knife but that he later stabbed Mohd Said and then Mohamed Johar after being challenged to a fight and verbally abused. A witness, Zainuddin Sairi, who had accompanied the two victims to confront Ithinin, also testified about the confrontation and abusive language exchanged before the stabbing. An autopsy found the stab wounds had penetrated the victims' hearts and lungs.

Ithinin's defence argued he acted under sudden and grave provocation after being verbally abused and kicked, and should be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder. The prosecution argued his response was grossly disproportionate to any provocation, noting he had presence of mind to arm himself and pack his belongings before fleeing.

On 9 January 1992, the trial judges rejected the provocation defence, applying a "reasonable man" test, and found Ithinin guilty of murdering both Mohamed Johar and Mohd Said. He was sentenced to death on both counts. Ithinin appealed to the Court of Appeal, which in 1993 dismissed his appeal, upholding the conviction and sentence. Ithinin was subsequently hanged in Changi Prison on an unspecified date.

The case, including its treatment of the sudden and grave provocation defence, was later cited in subsequent Singapore murder trials, including the 1999 case of Lau Lee Peng and the 2004 case of Sundarti Supriyanto.