SINGAPORE, Dec 17 — A 35-year-old man will be charged in court this afternoon with murdering Felicia Teo Wei Ling, a 19-year-old who went missing 13 years ago, after new leads surfaced this year.

The man, who was not named by the police in its statement, was arrested on Tuesday in relation to Teo’s disappearance.

The police are searching for another male suspect who was also believed to have last seen Teo at a Housing and Development Board flat in Marine Terrace. This other suspect, said to be Teo’s friend, is believed to be overseas.

Teo had been reported missing since June 29, 2007. Police investigations ascertained that she was last seen at the flat. TODAY reported in July 2007 that she had gone to the flat after a party at the Lasalle College of the Arts, where she was studying for a diploma in fine art.

Based on the TODAY report, the two men were the last to see her at the flat and they claimed that she had left “in a huff” when they complained about her “jarring ringtone”. 

The police said that when they interviewed the two men at the time, they maintained that Teo left the 10th-floor unit in the wee hours of June 30, 2007 of her own accord.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage retrieved from the town council showed her going up the lift with the two men to the unit, but the camera did not capture her departure.

The police said in a statement today that the unit was searched and CCTV footage near it were reviewed, but nothing incriminating was found.

Her disappearance was classified as a missing-person case because they did not find any facts that linked the two men to it.

Since then, the case has been regularly reviewed during which interviews were done with her family and other witnesses, along with checks on activities that could shed light on her possible movements. The police initiated the most recent review in July. 

No new leads surfaced until the case was referred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) later for a fresh review, given that it had been unsolved for an extended period.

This is part of a process where selected cases unresolved for a protracted period are referred to CID. 

CID uncovered new leads while tracing the items believed to be in Teo’s possession when she was reported missing. 

Its officers managed to link one of the items to the 35-year-old man and arrested him. 

Preliminary investigations found that Teo died before her mother made a police report on July 3, 2007, and that the two men had allegedly disposed of Teo’s body.

The police are searching for Teo’s remains. Investigations are also continuing.

About the case

Teo’s disappearance in 2007 set off a frenzied search comprising almost 200 people from her circle of family and friends who scoured the island, distributing and posting thousands of flyers.

They were baffled that Teo, who was always in touch with her friends day and night, would suddenly drop out of sight without anyone knowing her whereabouts.

Her family, friends and colleagues at a bar in Clarke Quay — where she worked part-time as a bartender — were unconvinced that the young woman had simply run away. 

Based on TODAY’s report in July 2007, she had been looking forward to a possible internship at a leading advertising firm and had bought a S$180 ticket to watch British band The Cure perform in Singapore.

Worried that their daughter might have been abducted and taken to Johor Baru, Malaysia, her parents even spent a day in the Malaysian city showing photos of Teo and asking strangers if they had seen her.

Her mother, Madam Jennifer Tai, was quoted saying about a month after her disappearance: “We give her all the freedom she wants, and even if she decides to spend the night outside, she would always call us.” — TODAY