On 26 November 1949, the Straits Times published a report about a 10-day old Indian girl who died after she was found dead in a well outside her home in Jalan Kayu, Seletar.
In March of the following year, 10-year old Thanamani Perumaiyi was charged for the murder of the child. Thanamani is the youngest female who has ever been charged in Singapore for murder. At that time, the law stipulated that a person over seven years old was responsible for his or her actions. The prosecution argued that Thanamani knew what what she was doing when she threw Navamani into the well.
Thanamani was the foster-daughter of an Indian family. On the morning of November 24, Thanamani's foster-mother found an egg being boiled for lunch. The foster-mother asked Tanamani where the egg came from. The accused said the egg was given by a neighbour. The foster-mother discovered that the only egg they had was gone and she scolded Tanamani.
Later, the foster-mother realised that her birth-daughter Navanami was missing. She asked Tanamani if she had seen Navamani. Thanamani replied "No,." After a two-hour search, the infant was found dead in the well.
In April, Tanamani was acquitted of the murder charge. Her defence lawyer was David Marshall.
In The David Marshall Trials by Alex Josey, there is a record of David Marshall's courtroom cross-examination of his 10-year old client. Thanamani could only speak Tamil. Through an interpreter, Marshall asked:
Marshall was sympathetic. "Now tell me honestly, Thanamani, what happened to the baby? How did it get into the well?
"I hid the baby," admitted Thanamani.
"You hid it in the well?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted an egg. I thought that after a while I would tell my foster-mother that if she gave me an egg, I would tell her where I had hidden Navamani.
Thanamani also confessed that she had once taken an egg and was caught by her elder sister who struck her on the head with a pan.
David Marshall asked Thanamani whether she had known the baby would die when she out her in the well. Thanamani's answer was: "No, why should I? I knew the water wouldn't hurt her. Water doesn't hurt people. It's nice. It doesn't hurt you. I didn't want to hurt Navamani. I just wanted to hide her so I could have an egg."
Marshall's defence was there was no evidence to connect Thanamani had thrown Navamani into the well in anger. Thanamani was acquitted by a jury.
After the acquittal, Thanamani was kept in the custody of the Salvation Army and eventually moved to Malaya where she became a mother of four children. Her current circumstances, assuming she is still living, is unknown.
Lee Yue Heng (16/01/2025)