Man, 66, found dead in Boon Keng flat after neighbours smell foul odour

A 66-year-old man who lived alone was found dead in a Boon Keng Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on Jan. 5 after neighbours smelled a foul odour coming from the unit.

Police confirmed with Mothership that at about 1.05pm, they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 4 Boon Keng Road.

A 66-year-old man was found lying motionless in a residential unit and was pronounced dead at scene.

Police cordoned off unit piled with items

A Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) reporter at the scene noticed that police had cordoned off a second-floor unit.

At least three police officers were seen at the affected unit.

The unit was filled with piles of miscellaneous items, including containers with food residue, making it hard to walk around, Shin Min observed.

Deceased lived alone for many years: Residents

Chen (transliteration from Chinese), the deceased's upstairs neighbour, told Shin Min that a few months ago, he started noticing many ants and cockroaches appearing in his kitchen, along with a strange odour from downstairs.

"At first, we weren't sure if they had come from the garbage chute, but later we realised that the ants had crawled up from the unit below ours," Chen said.

Chen added that he moved in about two years ago, but had never seen the deceased before.

Another third-floor resident told Shin Min that the deceased used to live with his mother.

But she moved out more than ten years ago, and he has lived by himself ever since, the resident said.

Last seen about 3 weeks ago: Neighbour

Another neighbour on the second floor told Shin Min that she had not seen the deceased in at least three weeks.

The deceased tended to keep to himself but would greet her when they crossed paths, she said.

"He has lived here for many years, and it is his habit to leave the unit early and return late," she added.

She mentioned that her husband had smelled a foul odour when passing by the deceased's unit on the night of Jan. 4.

She said another resident must have called the police.

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