A woman and her one-year-old daughter were found dead at the foot of a block of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on Nov. 5, 2023.

A coroner's inquiry was conducted into their deaths on Jul. 23, where it was revealed that the woman had been worried about her baby's development, reported The Straits Times.

Her husband had noticed that she had been "moody and listless", often lying in bed with their daughter.

A gag order on the identities of the mother and daughter, their family members and their address has been imposed as the woman has a surviving son.

Stayed home with daughter

On the day of the incident at about 10am, the woman told her husband that she was not following him to church as their daughter was unwell.

The husband then left with their son, who had insisted on going to church.

On the way there, the husband texted his wife but received no response.

He did not find this unusual as she usually would not be on her phone while caring for their daughter.

Resident saw something falling

Around 12:35pm, a resident hanging clothes at her balcony saw something falling one after another and heard loud thudding noises.

She then saw the mother and daughter on the ground and alerted the police.

The pair were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The husband returned home around 1:30pm and saw a police cordon at the block.

When he realised his wife and daughter were not home, he asked the police officers on site if there were two bodies.

The officers showed him photos and he confirmed their identities.

Had temper outbursts after giving birth to older son

Police Investigation Officer (IO) Clarice Koh, the sole witness in the inquiry, stated that the husband observed his wife experiencing temper outbursts following the birth of their son in 2019, which subsequently subsided after two years.

The woman was worried after their daughter was born as she was found to be underdeveloped and underweight at age one during a check-up.

The woman’s parents also noticed she was more irritable, kept to herself, and took fewer photos of the children.

Koh noted that during both hospital check-ups following the births of her children, the woman did not exhibit signs of mental health issues and was assessed as not being at risk of post-natal depression.

The police do not suspect foul play.

The coroner will deliver his findings on Aug. 22.

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: 6571 4400 (for targets of online harms)

Top photo from Canva