Elderly man dies in Punggol flat, neighbour called cops after maggots crawl into home

The decomposing body of an elderly man was found in his Punggol flat after a neighbour discovered maggots in her home.

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the police said they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 405A Northshore Drive at about 10am last Friday (Aug 23).

A 71-year-old man was found lying motionless in a residential unit and pronounced dead at scene.

A neighbour surnamed Deng, who lives in the flat across from the deceased's home, told Shin Min Daily News on Sunday that his older sister had been trying to contact him.

One week before the grim discovery, the sister had personally asked Deng to call her if she sees her brother. 

"I knocked on the elderly man's door a few days later but there was no response," said the 57-year-old cleaner. "I thought he was asleep and saw that his window was open the next day, so I didn't think much of it."

But while Deng was resting at home on Friday morning, she noticed a large number of maggots in her home.

"The bugs were squirming and looked like the type of bugs found on corpses," she said.

When the frightened woman knocked on the man's door again, she noticed a four odour and immediately called the police.

"As far as I can remember, I haven't seen him for at least three weeks," Deng added.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police said they do not suspect foul play. Investigations are ongoing.

Neighbours plagued by maggots

When Shin Min visited the man's home on Sunday, trauma cleaners could be seen cleaning and disinfecting the unit.

Another neighbour surnamed Wu said she had just moved in and was unaware of the elderly man's death until Deng asked if she noticed any maggots in her home.

Both women had placed towels under their doors as well as the deceased man's flat, in a bid to stop the maggots from crawling into their homes.

But Wu said the towels did not solve the issue. She had then made several complaints about the insects to the authorities.

"The disinfectants and insecticides I used could not kill the maggots," she said.

The woman said she feels relieved to hear that cleaning of the unit is being done, but still intends to seal the gap under her door with the towel for now.

ALSO READ: 51-year-old woman found dead in Upper Serangoon flat after foul stench detected by neighbours

lim.kewei@asiaone.com