Taiwan man, 60, found dead on bus, had allegedly been there for 3 days

A 60-year-old man in Taiwan who was found curled up at the back of the bus on Sep. 27 had reportedly been dead for several days.

Sin Chew Daily reported that the deceased was found by a passenger.

Dead for several days

When the police and firefighters arrived at the scene, the man, Gao, was found with no external injuries but in a state of rigor mortis, udn.com reported.

This indicated that he had been dead for several days.

According to Sin Chew Daily, surveillance footage revealed that at about 8:40pm on Sep. 24, Gao apparently boarded the bus at a parking lot.

The bus returned to its final stop at about 10:30pm the same day.

Alzheimer's

At about 6:45am on Sep. 27, a 27-year-old driver went to work after going on leave for two days, but allegedly did not check the vehicle before departing.

Local police then received a report at about 6:54am on Sep. 27 that a man on board a bus was unwell after a passenger found Gao lying on the floor.

Prior to his death, Gao, who suffered from Alzheimer's, lived with his father.

Gao's wife and children lived in mainland China, Sin Chew Daily reported.

Autopsy, investigation

According to udn.com, Gao's body was sent to a funeral home and was awaiting an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death, though homicide was preliminarily ruled out.

Sing Tao Headlines reported that police are reviewing surveillance footage from the area to determine how Gao entered the vehicle.

Police will also investigate his time of death and whether he boarded the wrong bus, as well as whether the driver failed to thoroughly inspect the vehicle before departing.