SINGAPORE: A 65-year-old cleaner was found dead in his Bukit Merah flat on 21 July 2025 after his employer became concerned when he did not turn up for work.
The employer went to the cleaner’s unit at Block 3 Telok Blangah Crescent and knocked on his door but received no response.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the employer arrived at the flat at around 10am.
When no one answered, he approached Hong, a neighbour who lives directly across the corridor, to ask if he had seen the cleaner recently.
Hong told Shin Min that he had not seen the cleaner for two to three days.
He said he noticed a slight foul odour in the corridor only after it was pointed out to him.
Worried, the employer contacted the police, who arrived at the unit at around noon.
By 5pm, multiple police cars at the block, and officers were observed entering and exiting the flat to conduct their investigation.
At about 6pm, the body of the deceased was removed from the unit and loaded into a hearse.
Chen, a 70-year-old neighbour living directly above the unit, said she first detected the strong odour on Sunday, 20 July 2025.
“It smelled like something was decaying. I nearly vomited from the stench,” she told Shin Min.
She added that the smell drifted into her flat the next morning, prompting her to shut all her windows.
Chen believes the cleaner may have died several days before his body was discovered.
Neighbours said the man had lived with his sister after their father passed away. He had been living alone for the last two years following his sister’s death.
Mohamad Shah, a 65-year-old security guard who has lived in the block for 15 years, described the cleaner as a quiet man who kept mostly to himself.
“He wasn’t very talkative, but we would greet each other whenever we met,” said Shah.
“Every time I saw him, he would have one or two cans of beer in his hands.” Shah last saw the cleaner last Thursday, and did not expect that he would pass away so soon.
Authorities have confirmed there is no evidence of foul play. The cause of death is under investigation.
String of solitary deaths raises alarm over senior isolation in urban Singapore
This case adds to a series of similar deaths in recent months, sparking concerns about elderly people living alone without adequate support.
Concerns have also been raised in Parliament over the lack of data on elderly people who die alone.
According to The Straits Times, the Ministry of Health does not track such deaths, though the Health Sciences Authority handles fewer than 100 unclaimed bodies annually.
The police also do not keep statistics on such cases, a point confirmed by Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on 7 August 2024.
Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan questioned whether relevant agencies receive data on such cases to help prevent future incidents. Shanmugam said that while police do not track the data, they refer isolated seniors encountered during patrols to appropriate services.
In May 2023, MP Yip Hon Weng proposed better monitoring and intervention for seniors resistant to community engagement. He stressed that tracking such cases could prevent similar deaths.
Then-Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim cited initiatives under the Ageing Action Plan, including the Live Well, Age Well programme and outreach by Silver Generation Ambassadors.
However, he acknowledged the importance of broader community involvement to identify at-risk seniors.
Dennis Tan also called for increased resources for Active Ageing Centres and better access for staff to check on seniors.
The Online Citizen has begun documenting solitary deaths in Singapore through its politicalsg wiki, providing a centralised resource for tracking such incidents.
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