Even more out-of-this-world details have emerged about the Chin Swee Road murder, courtesy of the Chinese newspapers in Singapore who have been relentlessly working the crime beat every day for a week now.

As a background recap: A man, 31, and a woman, 30, have been charged on Tuesday, Sep. 17, with the murder of their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

Since news broke on Sep. 12 about the ghastly discovery of a burnt corpse of a toddler in a metal pot inside the Chin Swee Road HDB flat, where the murder itself was believed to have taken place in 2014, a lot more details based on second-hand sources and media interviewing neighbours have emerged that make for some uncomfortable reading.

The couple who have been arrested still cannot be named due to a gag order.

Police investigations on this case are ongoing.

So, do note that the reports in the newspapers are based on what the reporters were able to piece together, with some of the information based on hearsay.

New details

In the latest Sept. 19 Chinese newspaper report by Lianhe Wanbao, a long-time friend of the female accused was quoted at length talking about just how the odour of a toddler's corpse could be masked for five years inside the flat without raising the alarm.

The latest news also reported that the body of the deceased girl was found by a volunteer who was helping the family out.

Wrapped corpse in cling film to mask odour

According to Lianhe Wanbao, a friend who has allegedly known the arrested woman for about 10 years claimed that the toddler's parents had first wrapped the deceased girl's body in cling film after she died.

It was not mentioned how this friend came to possess this information.

The parents then allegedly placed the body in a metal pot, which was in turn placed inside a box.

The box was allegedly wrapped in cling film, which was then placed in a corner of the flat.

The friend claimed that this was how the odour was masked for more than five years, despite the lack of refrigeration.

Volunteer discovered the corpse

The friend also claimed that the body was discovered when a volunteer visited the flat to clean up the place.

The volunteer was allegedly a friend of the male accused's family, and was asked to help take care of the accused's brother, who is a person of intellectual disabilities.

The volunteer had apparently opened the box, and fled the unit after seeing that it contained a corpse.

Brother thought pot contained edible meat

The friend further claimed that the male accused's brother, who is a person of intellectual disabilities, had thought that the pot contained edible meat.

The brother had allegedly switched on the fire to cook the meat, causing the foul odour to leak outside the flat.

Upon noticing the smell, neighbours then informed the police.

The accused couple's court case will be heard again on Sep. 24.

Top image via Wikipedia Commons, SRX