After losing contact with her brother for many days, a woman asked his neighbour in Punggol to keep a look out for him.

However, when the neighbour knocked, the man did not answer his door.

It was only when maggots crawled into her house a few days later that she realised something was amiss and alerted the police.

Police told Mothership that they were alerted to the case of unnatural death at Block 405A Northshore Drive on Aug. 23 (Friday) at about 10am.

A 71-year-old man was found lying motionless in a residential unit.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Helped sister knock on his door, but no answer: Neighbour

A Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) reporter who visited the scene observed that professional cleaning staff in protective gear were disinfecting the unit belonging to the deceased and wrapping up a set of sofas in the living room.

The deceased's neighbour, surnamed Deng, told Shin Min that the man's sister had come to look for him a week prior to the incident.

Deng said that the woman knocked on her door and asked if she had seen her brother.

When Deng replied no, the woman asked her to call her once her brother had returned home.

"A few days later, I knocked on my neighbour's door, but there was no response, so I thought he was asleep. The next day, I saw his window was open, so I gave it no further thought", Deng said.

Called police when maggots appeared

But on Friday, when Deng was lying on the sofa in her living room to rest, she realised that numerous maggots had appeared in her house.

Deng was so frightened that she rushed to knock on her neighbour's door again.

This time, she sensed a strange smell coming from within his flat and immediately called the police.

Neighbour hadn't seen him for three weeks

Deng said that she moved into her flat in 2020, and the man moved in about six months later.

Deng noted that the man would typically leave home at around 6am and return at around 11pm, and she occasionally greeted him when they bumped into each other.

"If I recall, I haven't seen him for around three weeks," she added.

Police do not suspect foul play

The police told Mothership that, based on preliminary investigations, they do not suspect foul play.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Top image from Shin Min Daily News