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<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h2>'Once-rich businessman' dies in flat fire</h2></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_print_publication field-group-div group-print-publication print-pub speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/original_images/Oct2014/20141021_TeoLengSoon.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/original_images/Oct2014/20141021_TeoLengSoon.jpg" width="600" height="391" /></div></div></div><small class="clear"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2014-10-21T08:35:17+08:00">Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - 08:35</span></small><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">My Paper</div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>SINGAPORE - An old man, who lived alone and was reportedly once a rich businessman, died in a fire at Telok Blangah yesterday morning.</p>
<p>The burnt body of Teo Leng Soon, 77, was found in a unit on the eighth floor of Block 3, Telok Blangah Crescent, Shin Min Daily News reported.</p>
<p>Two neighbours on the same floor - a man in his 30s and a woman in her 80s - were taken to the Singapore General Hospital due to breathlessness, The Straits Times reported.</p>
<p>The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to the fire at about 7.15am.</p>
<p>Mr Teo had been living alone at the rental flat for more than a decade, but neighbours said he was once a businessman.</p>
<p>Li Ge Hong, who lived in the flat opposite Mr Teo, told Shin Min that the man used to be very wealthy and owned two houses. He drove a white Mercedes with a unique number plate.</p>
<p>"I remember his licence-plate number was very special: 2222," he said. Mr Li added that Mr Teo had gambled away his fortune and moved into the rental flat, where he lived alone.</p>
<p>Muhammad Fahmi Shaikmaroff, 64, who lives one storey below Mr Teo, said he thought something was wrong when he heard a thump yesterday morning, like a heavy object hitting the floor in the unit upstairs. He went up to check if anything was amiss.</p>
<p>"I saw thick smoke from the flat and heard some groaning. I banged on the door, but there was no response," he said.</p>
<p>Worried, he considered rushing home to get a hammer to try to break the door down, but firefighters had already rushed to the scene.</p>
<p>The firefighters forced open the door, and the blaze in the living room was put out in five minutes using a water jet.</p>
<p>They found Mr Teo's burnt body in the flat.</p>
<p>Mr Li said that when he saw Mr Teo's unit on fire, he had knocked on his door but no one answered it, so he thought the man was out.</p>
<p>Some neighbours thought Mr Teo had gone to a coffee shop and had looked for him there.</p>
<p>About 30 residents from the eighth to the 10th floors were evacuated.</p>
<p>The cause of the fire is under investigation.</p>
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<div class="field field-name-title field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="dc:title"><h2>'Once-rich businessman' dies in flat fire</h2></div></div></div><div class="field-group-format group_print_publication field-group-div group-print-publication print-pub speed-fast effect-none"><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/original_images/Oct2014/20141021_TeoLengSoon.jpg"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://news.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/original_images/Oct2014/20141021_TeoLengSoon.jpg" width="600" height="391" /></div></div></div><small class="clear"><span class="date-display-single" property="dc:date" datatype="xsd:dateTime" content="2014-10-21T08:35:17+08:00">Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - 08:35</span></small><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">My Paper</div></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>SINGAPORE - An old man, who lived alone and was reportedly once a rich businessman, died in a fire at Telok Blangah yesterday morning.</p>
<p>The burnt body of Teo Leng Soon, 77, was found in a unit on the eighth floor of Block 3, Telok Blangah Crescent, Shin Min Daily News reported.</p>
<p>Two neighbours on the same floor - a man in his 30s and a woman in her 80s - were taken to the Singapore General Hospital due to breathlessness, The Straits Times reported.</p>
<p>The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to the fire at about 7.15am.</p>
<p>Mr Teo had been living alone at the rental flat for more than a decade, but neighbours said he was once a businessman.</p>
<p>Li Ge Hong, who lived in the flat opposite Mr Teo, told Shin Min that the man used to be very wealthy and owned two houses. He drove a white Mercedes with a unique number plate.</p>
<p>"I remember his licence-plate number was very special: 2222," he said. Mr Li added that Mr Teo had gambled away his fortune and moved into the rental flat, where he lived alone.</p>
<p>Muhammad Fahmi Shaikmaroff, 64, who lives one storey below Mr Teo, said he thought something was wrong when he heard a thump yesterday morning, like a heavy object hitting the floor in the unit upstairs. He went up to check if anything was amiss.</p>
<p>"I saw thick smoke from the flat and heard some groaning. I banged on the door, but there was no response," he said.</p>
<p>Worried, he considered rushing home to get a hammer to try to break the door down, but firefighters had already rushed to the scene.</p>
<p>The firefighters forced open the door, and the blaze in the living room was put out in five minutes using a water jet.</p>
<p>They found Mr Teo's burnt body in the flat.</p>
<p>Mr Li said that when he saw Mr Teo's unit on fire, he had knocked on his door but no one answered it, so he thought the man was out.</p>
<p>Some neighbours thought Mr Teo had gone to a coffee shop and had looked for him there.</p>
<p>About 30 residents from the eighth to the 10th floors were evacuated.</p>
<p>The cause of the fire is under investigation.</p>
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