Officers from the Housing Board had visited a HDB unit in Toa Payoh 7 times over a period of 2 years because the rent had been unpaid.
On 16 June 2022, when HDB decided to repossess the HDB unit and got contractors to break open the door, they found the skeletal remains of a person inside.
An open verdict on the case was recorded on Thursday (6 April) by State Coroner Adam Nakhoda, who said that although the DNA evidence indicated that the skeletal remains likely belonged to an elderly woman who had been living in the unit, 73-year-old Madam Cheng Ah Imm, it couldn’t be determined with certainty.
The elderly woman had been living in the unit on the 4th storey of Block 15, Toa Payoh Lorong 7 with one of her brothers until 2016 when he moved into a home.
The last time the rent was paid was on 23 March 2020, which was more than 2 years ago from the date the skeletal remains were found.
Soon Zhi Yuan, an investigation officer, also testified in court that one of the neighbours at the block said that she had seen an elderly woman at the said unit back in 2021, but didn’t know who the elderly woman was.
Old fliers were also found outside the locked door of the unit when HDB officers visited on 16 June 2022.
DNA samples from an oxygen mask that was used by Madam Cheng’s brother was also retrieved and compared with the skeletal remains, and it showed that the two sets of DNAs belonged to a pair of siblings.
State Coroner Nakhoda, however, said that because the sample was not obtained from the brother directly, hence it wasn’t enough to prove conclusively that the skeletal remained belonged to Madam Cheng.
The police also ruled out any possibilities of foul play in the case.