Family, friends remember Singaporean fatally stabbed in Brussels

On Nov 7, 2023, Mr B. Aravind Pillay waved goodbye to his family before boarding a flight to Belgium, with aspirations of completing his bachelor's degree in computer engineering.

- Ravi Singaram

Little did they expect that a year later, on Nov 7, his parents would receive the devastating news that their 25-year-old son had been fatally stabbed in the abdomen in central Brussels that morning.

Two 18-year-old men have since been identified and detained by the Brussels police after house searches.

According to the Belgian authorities, Mr Aravind, who was with two other students, was approached by the two suspects and an argument ensued before he was stabbed.

His body was flown back to Singapore for a wake, which was held at his family home in eastern Singapore from Nov 10. Mr Aravind's body was cremated the next day, at 6pm.

Among the throngs of people who paid their respects were former schoolmates from St Andrew's Secondary School and Nanyang Polytechnic, from which Mr Aravind graduated with a diploma in electronics, computer and communications engineering.