We are particularly concerned about our neighbours who live alone as we never know how they’re doing and if they can fend for themselves.
Sometimes, people around them don’t notice that they’ve gone MIA, and it takes days, months or even years to see that something unfortunate has happened. And this is pretty common here.
On Monday (17 April) evening, a 54-year-old man who lived alone was found dead in his Serangoon flat.
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The Details
Police were alerted at 7:30 pm by neighbours after they claimed that the man’s unit on the ninth floor of 223A Serangoon Avenue 4 was emanating a pungent smell.
They cordoned off the area surrounding the unit later that night, with Straits Times reporting that there were hair and brown stains shaped like footprints when they visited the following afternoon.
According to the Straits Times, the smell was still powerful, but the cordons were removed the day after the case was brought to the police.
One of the man’s neighbours, Madam Yap Mei Yun, 51, told the Straits Times that he had lived alone for 14 years.
The smell was so strong that Madam Yap had to shut her doors and windows.
The case is still under investigation, but police have ruled out foul play.
The Deceased Was a Hoarder
When Straits Times interviewed several of the man’s neighbours and others who knew of him, they noted that he used to hoard items.
Madam Yap said he barely interacted with anyone else and was reserved but would smile at neighbours.
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She noticed that he had placed miscellaneous items on the staircase landing of the floor they lived on, including a baby stroller. It baffled her as she didn’t recall him having any children.
He was also said not to have any visitors to his home.
Neighbours also noticed that the man stored a bunch of his belongings in the water and electrical metre compartments, which attracted cockroaches.
The town council was notified about this, and his items were removed shortly after.
Similar Incidents
Last year on 16 June, HDB contractors broke into a flat and found human skeletal remains.
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They had visited the flat on the fourth floor of Block 15 Toa Payoh Lorong 7 eight times over two years to remind its occupant, Madam Cheng Ah Imm, 73, that her rent was due.
The rent was last paid on 23 March 2020.
DNA evidence collected from the remains and an oxygen mask used by Madam Cheng’s brother showed that it belonged to her and her brother.
But since the DNA was not collected directly from her brother, it was insufficient to ascertain that the remains were hers.
In 2020, the remains of a woman, Madam Lily Loh, were found over a year after she passed away.
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The management behind The Shore Residences along Amber Road, where Madam Loh lived, was only notified after noticing that she had not left her house for a long time and mail had accumulated outside her home.
The management allegedly did not do much to rectify the situation, and it was only brought to the attention of the police by Mountbatten SMC MP Mr Lim Biow Chuan, who was told about Madam Loh.
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