The decomposing body of an 80-year-old woman was found in her home at Block 245 Jurong East Street 24 at 5:30pm on Jun. 26.

Residents of the block noticed a foul smell as early as four days ago on Jun. 23, but the elderly woman's death was undetected as her husband was hospitalised, her neighbours told Shin Min Daily News.

Foul smell in HDB corridor still noticeable a day later

When Shin Min reporters arrived at the HDB block on Jun. 27 evening, a day after the woman's body was found, they still noticed a foul smell lingering in the corridor outside her flat.

The deceased's neighbour lit incense and placed it outside their unit.

A yellow paper titled "Message from the police", was left on the gate of the woman's unit, which had already been locked up for investigations, reported Shin Min.

At the door outside the unit, reporters also found traces of what was believed to be blood.

Unsure where smell came from

A resident who lives on the floor above the woman, surnamed Chen (transliteration), said he and his family had begun noticing a foul smell coming from their bedroom window as early as Jun. 23.

"As the smell became stronger and stronger later on, we notified the town council on Jun. 24 and Jun. 25," recounted Chen.

However, despite visiting the HDB block and Chen's bedroom to conduct checks for two consecutive days, the town council were unable to ascertain the origins of the foul smell, said Chen.

At first, Chen and his family thought the smell came from another unit on their floor.

"The occupier of that flat was also living alone, so we were worried that something might have happened to him. However, after we saw him safe and sound, we speculated that the smell might be coming from a decomposing body of an animal nearby," shared Chen.

"It was only until Jun. 26 night when I saw a number of police officers conducting investigations downstairs that I realised it was our neighbour below who had passed away," he added.

Deceased's husband hospitalised: Neighbour

Another resident of the block, named Abraham (transliteration), revealed that the deceased had been living in the flat with her elderly husband when he moved into his home three years ago.

The elderly man, who appeared to work as a cleaner, would sometimes go out by himself.

However, the woman would stay at home and rarely left the flat, as she appeared to suffer from dementia, said Abraham.

"The last time I saw the [husband] was one month ago. As the couple didn't leave their flat very often, I did not think too much about it," he added.

Similar to Chen, Abraham and his family only realised that the elderly man's wife had passed away after police officers arrived at the HDB block on Jun. 26, despite noticing a foul smell a few days ago.

"I heard the husband was still hospitalised, so no one noticed that his wife had passed away," shared Abraham.

Police investigations ongoing

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force confirmed they were alerted to the case of unnatural death on Jun. 26.

An 80-year-old woman was found lying motionless in an HDB unit and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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

Police investigations are ongoing.

Top images via Shin Min Daily News & Google Maps