SINGAPORE - For the past few days at a Woodlands block, neighbours had heard a woman and a man arguing loudly. On Thursday (Jan 17), it ended with the 41-year-old woman dead and a 34-year-old man arrested for murder.

Police received a call for assistance at 1.34am and found the woman lying motionless inside a room in a rental flat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police arrested a suspect on Thursday. Both he and the victim are known to each other.

The man is due to be charged in court on Friday with murder. Police investigations are ongoing.

Residents of Block 693D, where the dead woman was found, told The Straits Times that the victim, believed to have been a school teacher, had been arguing frequently with a bald man in the three to four days before the alleged murder.

A resident who lives on the eighth floor said: "Both were shouting at each other and the fights lasted for about an hour each time. I was home at 1am (on Thursday) and I heard loud noises."

It is unclear if the bald man was the same man who was arrested or what his relationship with the victim was.

Mr Daniel Hussain, whose 12th-floor unit is almost directly above the crime scene, told ST that he saw the bald man, dressed in a red shirt and shorts, inside the victim's unit on Thursday.

Mr Hussain had walked past the unit while looking for his cat, which had strayed from his home.

"I've seen that man quite a lot," said the 47-year-old resident.

"He sits in the stairwell near my unit a lot, to smoke. He's not very friendly. He also drinks quite a bit - I've seen him (in the stairwell) with cans of beer a few times."

Mr Hussain added that at around 8.30pm on Wednesday, he heard a "scuffle" on the 11th floor.

"I heard (the sound of) things smashing on the ground, it was very noisy.

"From 10pm onwards, all was quiet. Then it started again at about 12.50am. There was a very loud shout below that sounded like a lady's voice and there was a man shouting vulgarities."

According to Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao, the victim was found to have bruises on her hands, feet, face and eyes. It is believed she was beaten before her death.

Mr Viky, 29, a resident who lives on the same floor as the victim, said he hardly saw the woman, who moved in around March last year.

Around New Year's Day this year, he saw the bald man with a motorcycle helmet going to her unit.

A 72-year-old resident, who lives down the corridor from the dead woman and declined to be named, said: "The few times I've seen her, she was alone. She seemed very gentle."