After waking up from a nap at 4:40pm on May 23, a man noticed a foul smell coming out of his father's room.

Initially, the man, named Riduan (transliteration from Mandarin), who lived with his 63-year-old father at Block 109 Hougang Avenue 1, thought it was his cat that passed away, reported Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min).

However, the theory was quickly disproved after Riduan noticed his cat wandering in the living room.

Realising something amiss, Riduan immediately started knocking on his father's door, but he received no response.

He then called his relatives, and together, they found the key to open his father's door.

Upon entering the room, Riduan was shocked to see his father lying on his side in the toilet with a bleeding head.

Riduan also recalled seeing maggots on his father's head.

Father pronounced dead at the scene

After Riduan and his relatives alerted the authorities, an ambulance and a police vehicle arrived at the HDB block, reported Shin Min.

The Singapore Police Force confirmed with Mothership that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death on May 23 at around 5pm.

A man was found lying motionless in a residential unit and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Father and son lived in separate rooms

According to Shin Min, Riduan had been living in the living room of the three-room HDB flat.

Due to his father's smoking habit, his father had been living in separate rooms from his mother.

His father also locked himself in his room often and would tell Riduan not to disturb his sleep when Riduan knocked on his door.

After Riduan's mother passed away last year, his wife moved into her late mother-in-law's room while Riduan continued living in the living room.

Last saw father three days before finding his body

Riduan also revealed that his father worked as a cleaner at a condominium nearby.

After work, his father would go to a nearby coffee shop to chat with friends.

"The last time I saw my father was at 8pm on May 20 when he came out to get some food before returning to his room immediately afterwards. My father rarely came out of his room, so I didn't suspect something went amiss at first," said Riduan.

As for his father's health conditions, Riduan said his father had suffered from swelling feet since 2022, but refused to see a doctor and only took painkillers.

Top images via Shin Min Daily News