An 88-year-old man was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of a 74-year-old woman in a residential unit in Bukit Panjang.

Police said they were alerted to a call for assistance at around 1am on Jun. 5.

When police officers arrived at the unit, the woman was found lying motionless inside and was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene, the Singapore Police Force said in a Jun. 5 news release.

The man was arrested at the scene and will be charged in court on Jun. 6 with murder, an offence that carries the death penalty.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the unit was located in Block 137 Petir Road.

Officers were seen using a measuring tape to measure a pair of scissors, before taking photos of it as evidence.

Accused was reportedly the victim's husband

Preliminary police investigations revealed that the accused and the victim are known to each other.

Neighbours told Zaobao that the man and woman were a couple who lived with their grandson, who was in his 20s.

They also expressed their shock at seeing police officers showing up at their building and finding out that an alleged murder had occurred at a unit nearby.

Accused suffered from dementia: Neighbour

A neighbour of the accused, who declined to be named, told Zaobao that the accused had dementia, and usually wandered around the HDB estate in an electric wheelchair.

The neighbour added that the man would sometimes talk to himself and appeared to suffer from mental health issues.

Nevertheless, the man would greet his neighbours when he met them.

Neighbour didn't hear anything before incident

According to the neighbour, the accused and his wife moved to the HDB block more than 10 years ago.

The neighbour shared that the family also seemed quite harmonious from an outsider's perspective, adding:

"The man usually did things alone, and I never heard the family quarrel; even when the incident unfolded, it was quiet. I only heard about the incident when I went downstairs to buy breakfast and saw about three police officers conducting investigations."

Helplines

If you or someone you know are in mental distress, here are some hotlines you can call to seek help, advice, or just a listening ear:

SOS 24-hour Hotline: 1-767

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

Institute of Mental Health: 6389-2222 (24 hours)

Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 (for primary school-aged children)

SHECARES@SCWO: Call: 8001-01-4616 | Whatsapp: 65714400 (for targets of online harms)

Top images via Lianhe Zaobao & Google Maps