Bodies of mother and son found inside Tampines flat after foul stench detected

SINGAPORE - A 70-year-old man and his 92-year-old mother were found dead in their Tampines flat on Saturday morning.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the police said they received a call for assistance at about 11.56am.

When officers turned up at the 11th-storey flat in Block 285 Tampines Street 22, they found the two lying motionless. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

According to Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News, neighbours detected a foul stench originating from the flat.

A neighbour on the 10th storey told Shin Min that they started to notice the smell a week ago, but thought it could be due to cooking by other residents.

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

In November 2020, the remains of an elderly woman and her dog were found in her condominium unit a year after she died.

The body of the woman, who had lived alone with her dog, was discovered only after the condo’s management was notified about letters piling up outside her door.

Neighbours reported a “weird smell” in the common hallway around February 2019, more than a year before her remains were discovered.

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In September last year, a 74-year-old woman was found dead in her flat in Bedok North Avenue 2 after she left a light on in her home, but was not seen carrying out her usual routine of feeding stray cats and hanging laundry.

Her neighbours, who grew anxious after not seeing her for a week, opened her unlocked front door and found her lying face down.

The two cats she lived with were later adopted by a neighbour who had helped to take care of her.

One of her neighbours had been leaving cat food outside the woman’s unit, and told The Straits Times that she was relieved that someone had adopted the cats. “Especially for the elderly people who live alone, the neighbours must watch out for one another,” she said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.