A 77-year-old elderly man died alone in his flat at Block 174 Toa Payoh Lorong 1, and was only discovered after a foul smell started emanating from his flat.
A neighbour later recalled that the deceased’s potted plants outside his flat had began wilting about a week before his decaying body was discovered.
The elderly man lived alone on the 9th storey of the HDB block, and was found dead on Saturday afternoon (24 June).
The Singapore Police Force said that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at about 2.50pm and the 77-year-old man was then pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the police’s preliminary investigations, they are not suspecting any foul play in the man’s death.
Police officers were also seen wearing masks when entering the scene because of the strong stench coming from the unit, before taking the body away at about 6pm later that evening.
Isolated
Neighbors recount their limited interactions with the deceased, describing a man who led a solitary existence within the community.
For approximately 30 years, he had made the block his home, initially residing with an older female relative who had since passed away.
Since then, he had lived a reclusive life, rarely engaging with those around him. His reserved nature meant that even his closest neighbors did not know his name, highlighting the anonymity that characterized his time in Toa Payoh.
A neighbour of the deceased, Mdm Zhang, recalled the wilting potted plants outside the deceased’s flat. She had seen him diligently watering them on numerous occasions, but suddenly, his absence became apparent as nobody tended to his plants, which started wilting.
Zhang had knocked on the man’s door but there was no answer, and she then helped him to water his plants.
It was only when Mdm Zhang’s brother visited and detected a foul smell seeping through the man’s unit that the gravity of the situation was realised and the police were alerted.