Third-party autopsy of maid confirmed

Third-party autopsy of maid confirmed

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines and Singapore yesterday issued a
joint statement saying both countries would abide by the results
of a third-party autopsy on a murdered Filipina maid whose death
was central to a diplomatic squabble between the two.

The joint statement said that if the third-party autopsy
upheld the findings of Philippine forensic experts that the maid,
Delia Maga, had not been murdered by another Filipina maid, Flor
Contemplacion, then they would reopen Contemplacion's case.

Contemplacion was hanged in Singapore in March for the 1991
murder of Maga and Maga's four-year-old Singaporean charge.

However many Filipinos charge that she was framed, resulting
in a public outcry that forced Manila to downgrade relations with
Singapore.

However, the statement added, if the third party upholds
Singaporean pathologists' earlier findings that Contemplacion
killed Maga, "the Philippines will abide by such a decision."

Earlier this month, government pathologists told a special
commission looking into Contemplacion's case, that Maga was
murdered by a man. This led to the commission's findings that
Contemplacion was innocent.

The Singaporeans rejected the findings and after a joint
necropsy in Manila on April 19, both groups continued to stick to
their findings.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo and his
Singaporean counterpart, S. Jayakumar have been meeting at the
directions of Philippine President Fidel Ramos and Singaporean
Premier Goh Chok Tong to work out the details of the third-party
autopsy.

However, the statement did not say who would conduct the
third-party autopsy or when it would take place.

Ramos previously said that if it was proved that Singapore's
autopsy was more accurate, the Philippines would normalize
relations with Singapore.