Man goes missing for days, employer finds his decomposing body in shipping container

A man was found dead in a shipping container at Mandai Foodlink after he went missing for days, Shin Min Daily News reported on Friday (May 24).

The body of the 30-year-old was discovered at 11am on Wednesday at a third-floor unit of the industrial complex.

Arriving at the scene at around 2pm, the Shin Min reporter noted that a large blue shipping container at the unit had been left open, with a pungent stench emanating from it.

Officers were seen bagging evidence from the container, which included clothing.

Speaking with Shin Min, an employee from a neighbouring unit said he was shocked to learn that a death had occurred so nearby.

He added that the deceased was an employee of a middle-aged couple that operated a business selling alcohol products including wine, and had been working for about a year.

"How could there be such a sudden death? I haven't smelled anything strange the past few days either," he said.

The dead man's employer — red-eyed and wearing a downcast expression — was also at scene speaking with police.

He had been searching for the man for a few days, but was unable to find or contact him, Shin Min reported.

To his horror, when he opened the shipping container on Wednesday, he found the employee's body — already decomposing and smelling bad — inside.

When approached, he declined to be interviewed.

No foul play suspected: Police

Responding to queries by AsiaOne, the police confirmed that they received a report of an unnatural death at 11.35am on Wednesday at 5 Mandai Link.

A 30-year-old man was found lying motionless inside a container and was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic from the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

According to preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play. Investigations are ongoing.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com