Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
A 77-year-old avid gardener who lived alone was found dead in his Toa Payoh flat, after neighbours noticed that his usually well-kept plants were all wilting.
A resident who detected an unpleasant smell emanating from the man's ninth-floor unit, proceeded to alert the police, reported Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min).
The police confirmed with Mothership that on June 24 at 2:50pm, they were alerted to a case of unnatural death in a residential unit at Block 174 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.
Screenshot from Google Street View.
Man had been living there for more than 30 years, rarely socialised
Residents on the same floor expressed to Shin Min that the deceased had lived there for more than 30 years.
An older female used to live with him until she passed away many years ago, they said.
The resident who alerted the police, Zhang (transliterated from Mandarin), described the deceased as a tall and thin man who was not very talkative.
She also said that he rarely socialised with the other residents and that she had never seen relatives visit him.
His last job, she understood, was as a security officer.
Man's plants started wilting, rotting smell detected
Zhang mentioned that the senior was an avid gardener, and would tend to an assortment of more than 50 plants outside his flat.
She said that he used to water his plants in the corridor on a regular basis.
However, she told Shin Min that she hadn't seen him at all over the last two weeks.
Since a week ago, she also began to notice that his usually well-maintained plants were all wilting.
Image from Shin Min Daily News.
"Three days ago, I even knocked on his door, but there was no response," Zhang shared.
"I thought that he might have gone overseas, so I helped him to water some of his plants."
Alarm bells started ringing for Zhang when her brother, who passed by the man's unit recently, reported a rotting smell coming out from it.
Hence, she decided to call the police.
No foul play detected: Police
Image from Shin Min Daily News.
A police spokesperson told Mothership that a 77-year-old man was found lying motionless in the unit.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play, and investigations are ongoing.
Top image from Shin Min Daily News