Body of woman, 68, found decomposing in Ang Mo Kio flat, possibly after she fell in shower
She was reportedly living alone after her aunt passed away six years ago.
Winnie Li
A 68-year-old woman, who was living alone in an HDB flat in Ang Mo Kio, was found dead in her unit on Apr. 29 after her neighbour noticed a strong foul smell coming out of the flat.
In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force confirmed they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at a residential unit at Block 224 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 on Saturday at 10:30am.
A woman was found lying motionless in the flat and pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedic.
Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play.
Last seen by neighbour on Thursday
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the woman's next-door neighbour, Joanna (transliteration from Mandarin), said the last time she saw the deceased was on Apr. 27, two days before the body was discovered.At the time, she was sitting in her living room as usual.
However, on Apr. 28, Joanna found the door and windows of the woman's flat were shut.
When the 49-year-old walked past the deceased's home around noon, she also noticed a foul smell.
While she had her doubts, Joanna didn't knock on the door as the smell was not very strong.
That evening, Joanna decided to walk up to her neighbour's flat and find out what had happened after not seeing the woman for the entire afternoon.
"No one answered the door, but I could hear the sound of running water coming out from the kitchen. I thought she must be showering, so I left," the 49-year-old recounted.
Neighbour notified police after noticing foul smell
It was only when another male neighbour walked past the deceased's unit on Apr. 29 and noticed a strong foul smell that Joanna suspected that something might have gone wrong and alerted the authorities.When police officers arrived at the scene and opened the door, a number of flies flew out, and the entire corridor was filled with a foul smell, the 49-year-old said.
The woman was subsequently found lying on the bathroom floor inside her flat.
"We speculated that the woman passed away on Thursday after falling down while taking a shower in the bathroom," Joanna said.
Deceased was an introvert who lived alone
According to the neighbours of the deceased, the woman was introverted and she rarely spoke to others or left her flat other than to buy takeaways.Nevertheless, they had been keeping an eye out for the woman and had invited her to join community activities multiple times previously.
Two relatives of the deceased also told Shin Min that she used to live with her aunt in the unit until the older woman passed away six years ago.
The female relative also said they used to take the deceased out for reunion gatherings during celebrations and festivities.
They never thought she would pass away so suddenly.
