SINGAPORE: The body of a 65-year-old man was found in his flat at Block 30, Marine Crescent on Tuesday (Jan 9).



The Singapore Police Force said they received a call for assistance at 9.20pm, adding that the man was found lying motionless and was pronounced dead by paramedics.



Channel NewsAsia understands that the body was decomposed. "It was subsequently established that he had died of natural causes," police stated.

Next-door neighbour Mr Ng, who had not seen the deceased for about a week, realised something was amiss on Monday night and raised the alarm.



Mr Ng said the man had been living in the unit for at least 10 years. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)

"It was Monday, just past midnight," said Mr Ng on Wednesday, adding that his neighbour lived alone with a dog. "I was coming back. The dog barked at me as usual, but I never thought of anything."



The next morning, the 60-year-old retiree decided to give his neighbour a call as they had not seen each other for a week or so.

"That was the first time that I reached the voicemail," he added. "He was a guy who would call me back, no matter how."

When Mr Ng called again in the afternoon, he got voicemail again. "I was thinking, something is really wrong," he said. When he tried knocking on the door, the dog barked at him again.

That was unusual, Mr Ng said. His neighbour would always be with his dog in his room with the air-conditioning on, he said, so it was impossible that the pet would be out in the living room for so long.

It was then that Mr Ng decided to call the man's sister. Family members called the police, who gained access to the house with the help of a locksmith, he said.

"They didn’t want to damage anything in case he was hospitalised or went somewhere without informing anybody," Mr Ng said. "But the first thing they saw was him lying on the floor near the door."



The man's gate was padlocked. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)

UNDERSTANDING, HELPFUL ANIMAL LOVER



Mr Ng said he had hoped that nothing bad had happened to his neighbour. "(I thought) maybe he went on a holiday," he added.

Mr Ng also wondered why his neighbour did not knock on his door if he was feeling unwell.

"Once in a while, if he had problems, he also knocked on my door," Mr Ng said. "Why not this time?"



Potted plants outside the man's home had withered. (Photo: Aqil Haziq Mahmud)

"This kind of thing should not happen," added Mr Ng, who said he understood his neighbour used to work as an in-flight supervisor with Singapore Airlines.

"He was still young. He just retired half a year ago."



Mr Ng said they were good friends and would even share leftover meals.

"You see, he’s really understanding," he told Channel NewsAsia. "He likes to help people. If you're not sure about anything, he will explain it to you."



Mr Ng also described his neighbour as a "great" animal lover who would feed every stray cat in the neighbourhood for "breakfast, lunch and dinner".



"If he was still alive, he’d still be feeding them," he added.

Two weeks ago, the decomposed body of a 68-year-old man was found in a Punggol flat.

