On the morning of March 15, 2010, at the Pony Mansion on Benculen Street, Singapore, a sense of terror and confusion awoke the residents.

On this day, 30-year-old Filipina Roselyn Reyz Pascua was discovered deceased inside her room.

This incident would expose the peril and hardship faced by numerous migrant workers abroad.

Roselyn’s story is one of a dreamer seeking opportunities overseas, tragically cut short by the rage, envy, and desperation of another person.

In this place and on this date, began the complex legal process and search for justice for Roselyn.

The Arrival and The Routine

In February 2010, as Roselyn Reyz Pascua stepped off the plane at Changi Airport, she felt a mix of anxiety and excitement.

It was her first time in Singapore. In a small suitcase, she carried all her dreams for her family in the Philippines.

At 30, she was determined to take this huge risk. She soon met her kabayan, Maricel, who brought her to the Pony Mansion.

The apartment was old and simple, but for migrants like them, it was home—cheap rent and many Filipinos.

Roselyn shared a small room with Lannie, one of her housemates. That night, over a simple meal, she received a warning.

“Roselyn, it’s all about hustle and hard work here,” said Joy, another housemate. “Just don’t be picky.”

Roselyn listened intently, knowing she would endure the struggle for her family.

The following days quickly settled into a routine: job hunting and taking any odd job at night—sometimes as a waitress, sometimes as a dish washer.

Her earnings went straight into an envelope marked “for Mama.” Her only highlight was the weekly call home, assuring her mother she was fine despite being exhausted and lonely.

A Fateful Acquaintance

Roselyn found a part-time serving job at a small eatery on Kitchener Road, a bustling, multicultural area.

It was here that she first noticed Biju Kumar Gopinathan, an Indian national working at a shipyard, who always ate alone.

Their simple conversations began when he recognized her as being from the Philippines. He was also far from family and shared a similar loneliness.

For Roselyn, he was just a familiar customer and a friend. But Gopinathan’s mood was often dark, especially when discussing money and the difficulty of life in Singapore.

“Life is so hard here. The money. It’s never enough,” he once told her, with a palpable anger that made Roselyn uneasy.

Lannie warned her to be careful, saying it was hard to trust anyone. Roselyn, however, insisted he was just a friend.

She was unaware that their simple talks were paving the way to a night that would change everything.

The Night of the Confrontation

On the evening of March 14, Roselyn received a text from Gopinathan asking to meet at Pony Mansion for an “important” talk.

When he arrived, his face was dark and serious. They rode the elevator up to her room in silence, a chilling nine minutes.

As soon as they were inside the small room, Gopinathan shut the door and demanded money.

“The money, Roselyn. The money we talked about. You said one thing, but now you are changing it. That is not fair,” he said, accusing her of backing out of an arrangement.

Roselyn immediately understood it was about an agreed-upon sexual service she had backed out of. “Look, Biju. I’m sorry, but I changed my mind. I can’t do it. Let’s just forget about it,” Roselyn pleaded, offering to return his money.

“Forget? It’s not that easy! I gave you money. My hard-earned money. You think you can just take it and say sorry?” Gopinathan shouted, his controlled anger vanishing into pure violence.

He felt betrayed and foolish. His accumulated frustration over his own poor life and low wages found a violent outlet in Roselyn.

The heated argument escalated quickly into shouting and physical aggression. “Give me back my money. All of it!” he yelled, moving closer.

In a swift and brutal act in that small room, the confrontation ended abruptly. Roselyn was silenced. Gopinathan stood over her, breathing heavily.

Panic-stricken, he grabbed her cellphone and wallet from the table and fled the room, using the rear fire exit to avoid CCTV cameras. Inside room number 0546, only the silence and Roselyn’s lifeless body remained.

Discovery and Investigation

In the early hours of March 15, Lannie grew worried because Roselyn had not returned and her phone was off. Lannie and Joy knocked on her door, but received no answer.

The noise woke a neighbor, Ashley Tybe, who, upon checking, found the door was unlocked. Ashley pushed the door open, revealing Roselyn’s body collapsed on the floor, surrounded by blood.

A panicked scream from Joy broke the silence. Ashley quickly ran to alert the building caretaker, who called the police. Within minutes, the Pony Mansion was swarming with officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Lannie and Joy gave their testimonies, immediately providing the first lead: an Indian man named Biju Kumar, whom Roselyn knew from work and had recently argued with over money.

The forensics team examined the crime scene, noting the brutality of the attack, the missing phone and wallet, and the lack of defensive wounds on Roselyn. A clear sign of anger.

The lead detective ordered the team to track the victim’s phone, check all CCTV footage, and find everything about Biju Kumar Gopinathan, a shipyard worker. The hunt was on.

The Hunt and Arrest

The CCTV footage showed Biju and Roselyn entering the elevator together and Biju exiting alone through the rear fire escape, a clear indicator of guilt.

A trace on Roselyn’s phone quickly pinpointed Biju’s location to a cell tower near Kitchener Road in Little India. The police knew he was panicking, not a master criminal.

Biju, driven by a desperate need to send money to his family in India, risked leaving his hiding spot. He entered a small remittance center to complete a money transfer.

As he walked out, he was immediately intercepted by plainclothes officers. “Biju Kumar Gopinathan? You are under arrest for the murder of Roselyn Reyz Pascua.”

The police recovered Roselyn’s cellphone, the blood-stained money, and the Western Union receipt from his pockets. Three days after the crime, Biju was apprehended.

Confession and Sentencing

In the interrogation room, Biju initially lied, claiming a mysterious “Malay man” had committed the murder. The detectives, armed with overwhelming evidence—CCTV footage, Roselyn’s blood on his recovered cash, and the lack of defensive wounds—broke his story.

Biju finally confessed, tearfully admitting he lost control during an argument over money and the sexual arrangement she had cancelled. He claimed he was provoked, saying Roselyn had hit him and insulted him.

The court did not accept his full self-defense claim, pointing to the brutality of the attack.

The trial lasted almost a year. The forensic pathologist testified that Roselyn suffered deep, deliberate stab wounds and had no defensive injuries, calling the act an “execution.”

The High Court initially sentenced Biju to the mandatory death penalty in March 2012.

However, months later, Singapore amended its death penalty laws to allow for discretionary sentencing in cases where there was no clear intent to kill. Biju appealed.

The court eventually re-sentenced Biju in August 2013, ruling that the evidence did not show a clear intent to murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and 18 strokes of the cane.

Though Roselyn’s family accepted the final verdict, her story remains a powerful warning about the dangers faced by migrant workers and contributed to a landmark change in Singapore’s law regarding capital punishment.