A 77-year-old elderly homeless man was found dead on Tuesday evening (11 April) on the stage near the Mayflower Market and Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the elderly man was found lying down on the stage beside the town square, and a passer-by had noticed something wasn’t right because he remained motionless for a long time.
Apparently, he had a habit of sleeping or lying down on the stage
The passer-by watched the old man for a while and soon noticed that he wasn’t breathing before calling the police at about 6 pm for help.
The elderly man’s body was subsequently taken away from the scene, which was cordoned off by the Singapore Police Force.
Speaking to SMDN, a public member who had interacted with the deceased before, described the homeless man as being a nice person.
The elderly man had shared with him during one of their interactions that his relationship with his family was strained and he left his home.
A 60-year-old hawker who works nearby, Mr Huang Mingshan, told SMDN that about a few months ago, he had previously seen the elderly man roaming the area carrying a dark bag.
Huang shared that the elderly man had a habit of sleeping on the stage at night, as well as resting there and when it rained, he would seek shelter at an HDB void deck in the vicinity.
Despite being homeless, Huang said that the elderly man was clean and would shower at the nearby hawker centre, as well as change his clothes every day.
He also had money to afford three meals a day, with the hawkers at the hawker centre recognising the elderly man and describing him as being quiet.
He would also order teh tarik, roti prata or nasi goreng from the hawker centre.
The Singapore Police Force confirmed the incident and said that they were alerted on 11 April at about 6 pm to the case of unnatural death at Block 160 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.
The elderly man was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic after being found lying motionless.
The police are also not suspecting any foul play based on their preliminary investigations and are currently investigating.