Our three years of anguish
ON FRIDAY Ashika Singh would have celebrated her 38th birthday, but her family is still grieving over her brutal death three years ago.
And, shocked that her boyfriend – the man who had been accused of murdering her – is out free, they now wait anxiously to learn if prosecutors have sufficiently swayed a judge to allow the case to be reopened.
In its bid to overturn the acquittal of Merebank’s Mark Donovan Ramdass, the directorate of public prosecutions (DPP) has argued, among other things, that amnesia, which helped Ramdass walk out the Durban High Court a free man in September, can be easily faked.
On its own, it was not a defence, they argued, saying it was very difficult to prove and many people might submit claims of suffering from simply to avoid punishment.
Last week, Judge Johan Ploos van Amstel reserved his judgment on the application by the DPP for leave to appeal the verdict.
Ramdass, 32, was acquitted of the March 2014 murder of his long-term girlfriend, Ashika Singh.
The 35-year-old financial adviser was strangled to death with an extension cord at her home in the early hours of March 2 that year.
Her mother, Dolly Singh, had returned home from a casino at 3am and noticed their driveway gate was jammed.
Travesty
She discovered her daughter’s lifeless body in her bedroom.
Ramdass, who was unemployed, had lived in their home and had allegedly fled with Singh’s car. He handed himself to police the next day.
After a mental assessment at Fort Napier, he was declared fit to stand trial.
However, at the end of the trial Judge Ploos van Amstel found Ramdass had been so drunk on the day of the murder, he lacked criminal capacity.
Ramdass claimed he had no recollection of Singh’s murder and drank excessive amounts of alcohol and smoked crack cocaine before committing the murder.
However, the DPP argued Ramdass had displayed “goaldirected behaviour” that included jamming the driveway gate, using an electrical cord to strangle the deceased and placing a packet over her head.
Senior state advocate Kelvin Singh said it was this behaviour that “lends credence” to a conscious behaviour on the part of Ramdass.
The State further argued that Ramdass’s inability to recall events of the murder, stating he suffered from amnesia, was not a defence.
Singh further argued that Ramdass had the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.
“It must be reiterated… if Ramdass’s actions were found to be involuntary due to intoxication, then he would not have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong.”
Using various case laws, the State asked the court to re-open the case so an expert could assist the court in deciding on the matter of Ramdass’s concious behaviour at the time.
A spokesperson for Singh’s family, Naresh Rampersad, who described the acquittal as a travesty of justice, this week told POST they were disappointed by the delays in the appeal, which had initially been set to take place in February.
But they were hopeful justice would eventually prevail.
“We are following the protocol. March was a painful month, but on Friday (April 21) Ashika would have celebrated her 38th birthday.
“This is especially trying for her mother, Dolly, who at times seems like she wants to give up, but with our support and comfort is holding on.”