The dead body of a 56-year-old man was found slumped over a table at North Bridge Road Market and Food Centre yesterday (19 March), according to Shin Min Daily News.
The man’s body was reportedly there for the entire day, with passers-by thinking that he was just a drunk customer.
The Singapore Police Force said that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death on 19 March at about 8.15 pm, at Block 861 North Bridge Road.
One of the cleaners working at the hawker centre, 66-year-old Liu Zheguang, spoke to SMDN and said that at about 9 am, he saw the man sitting with his head and upper body on the table.
He had initially thought that the man was a drunk customer because he had seen many of them there before and didn’t want to disturb him.
However, the slumped-over man didn’t wake up after the whole day.
Later that evening at about 8 pm, Liu tried to wake the man up when he was about to clean the floor but couldn’t despite shaking him and calling out to him for about 3 minutes.
Liu then called for an ambulance and was instructed by the SCDF operator to check if the man was still breathing, and Liu then realised that the man wasn’t.
SCDF paramedics soon arrived at the scene and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Liu added that when he noticed the man earlier in the morning, he still had his red backpack on, and recalled seeing the same bag being placed on the seat beside the man when he returned in the evening.
Other stall owners nearby spoke to SMDN and said that the man had been lying on the table since Sunday at about 3 am, with one hawker sharing that he saw a bowl of noodles in front of the man when he came in the morning to open his stall.
A customer at the hawker centre also told SMDN that they had heard the man snoring, with another customer sharing that the man was seen getting up at about 6 pm to stretch.
The police later arrived at about 11 pm to retrieve the deceased’s body after an investigation that lasted for about 4 hours.
The police said that they are not suspecting foul play.