67YO Woman Found Dead in Henderson Road HDB Flat With Floor Covered With Maggots

On Saturday, 29 July 2023, a 67-year-old woman was found dead in a flat.

However, it wasn’t a typical case of elderly people dying alone at home. Her husband was also in the flat.

Here’s what you need to know about this incident.

67YO Woman Found Dead in Henderson Road HDB Flat With Floor Covered With Maggots

On 29 July 2023, it was reported that a 67-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man were found dead and unconcious in a Henderson Road HDB flat.

The police were alerted to the incident at about 10.17am, and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) around 20 minutes later.

Officers found the woman lying motionlessly in the 9th floor unit. A paramedic declared her dead at the scene.

A 70-year-old man, her husband, was also found unconscious in the flat and was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Investigations are ongoing for the unnatural death but the police does not suspect foul play.

Unbearable Smell Appeared For About a Week

According to a neighbour, 60-year-old Mr Xu (hanyu pinyin), who spoke to Shin Min News Daily, he had started noticing a weird smell coming from the flat for about a week.

He lived just opposite the unit.

The couple usually leave their front door open, Mr Xu said, but it was shut for the past few days.

Unable to tolerate the smell any further, he called the police on Saturday morning.

He also went up to the flat to knock on the door, which opened at the slightest push.

That was when he saw the floor filled with wriggling maggot.

Couple Wasn’t Seen For a Week, Front Door Usually Left Open

According to the neighbours, the HDB flat was occupied by an elderly couple.

They relied on wheelchairs to move around and would normally leave their flat every morning to eat.

However, they have not seen the couple for a week and the neighbours thought that the woman had returned to her hometown in Johor Bahru.

Another neighbour, John, said that the elderly couple were very close. The man takes care of his wife who previously had a stroke.

People Dying Alone at Home

Unfortunately, elderly people dying at home is not unheard of in Singapore.

Back in April 2023, a 54-year-old man was found dead in his home after neighbours detected a strong stench in the vicinity.

He had lived alone for 14 years and was known to be a hoarder.

And on 16 June 2022, HDB officers broke into a flat only to discover skeletal remains in a Toa Payoh Lorong 7 flat.

You can read more about that here.