In the last six months, there have been several cases of bodies being found in rivers and reservoirs around Singapore. In the fourth case this year, a body was found in the Kallang River on Friday morning.
The deceased is reported to be a 58-year old man. His body was found by a cleaner, who had been alerted to the body by his boss, at about 8am.
“When civil defence officers arrived, I saw them retrieving the body from the river with their bare hands. Last month, another old man also died in the river, and I didn’t expect a similar case to happen today,” the 70-year old cleaner said.
In fact, it wasn’t last month but earlier on 14 March that the body of a South Korean woman was found floating in the same river at 12.50pm. The body was clad in a black top and trousers and was also found by cleaners who were doing their rounds that day.
On 2 January, two bodies were found in two separate incidents. The body of 59-year old Lee Eng Hock was found in the Singapore River in front of The Riverwalk, at Upper Circular Road at about 4pm that day.
The deceased, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of bermuda shorts, was pronounced dead at the scene by SCDF officers. On the same day the body of a younger man – believed to be about 30-years old – was found floating in the Kallang River.
The police classified both cases as unnatural deaths and are investigating.
In 4 October last year, the body of a woman was found in the Pandan Reservoir at 9am. [In November 2011, the decomposed body of a man was also found in the same reservoir. See story here.]
About two months later in December, the headless body of a woman was found in the Whampoa River near Blk 110 McNair Road. Local news reported that that the was believed to be topless, was only wearing a pair of black pants, and was decapitated.
The police classified the case as murder.
A week later, the police arrested and charged 25-year-old forklift driver, Gursharan Singh, for the murder of the woman, identified as 33-year-old Jasvinder Kaur. Mr Singh was a S-pass holder from India. Ms Kaur was also an Indian national who had come to Singapore on a dependent’s pass, reported the media. [See report here.]
In 2011 and 2012, a spate of apparent suicides in Bedok Reservoir resulted in calls for the authorities to do more to prevent such deaths occurring there.
The public’s concern prompted the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan, to assure the public that the “safety of drinking water was not compromised” by the deaths and discoveries of bodies in the reservoir.
Man and Toddler Found Motionless in Yishun
A 40-year-old man and his one-year-old daughter were found lying motionless on a grass patch near the bottom of Block 280 in Yishun Street 22 yesterday morning. A loud thud was heard by many residents who were nearby and a lady reportedly tried to perform Cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the child who seemed unconscious.
Soon after, an ambulance was sent to the scene and the man was pronounced dead. The child was rushed to Khoo Tech Puat Hospital where she died later. It is believed they had fallen at the same time and from a flowerpot rack on the 12th storey.
According to a local news source, the girl was “in a flowery dress, was bleeding from her ears, and lying about a metre away from her father”. It was also said that the man “appeared to be financially well-off”.
MAN AND TODDLER FOUND LYING MOTIONLESS AT FOOT OF YISHUN BLOCK
Police received a call on 27 Mar 2014, at about 11.06am, requesting for assistance at block 280, Yishun Street 22.
Upon police arrival, a 40-year-old man and 1-year-old girl were found lying motionless at the foot of the block. The man was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene. The girl was conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat hospital, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries.
Police are investigating the unnatural death."
Yishun man and daughter fall to death
Retiree Poh Bock Tho, 73, was sitting at his usual spot in the void deck when he heard a loud sound.
Thinking it was high-rise litter, he went to take a look, but found a man and his daughter sprawled on the grass patch.
Just minutes earlier, he had seen the man carrying the little girl and walking to the lift landing of Block 280 at Yishun Street 22.
Man and toddler fall to their deaths at Yishun
A man and a toddler were found lying on the grass patch below Block 280, Yishun Street 22 yesterday (March 27). Stomp contributors X and Puzkatel alerted Stomp to the incident.
Stomp contributor X said: "At around 11am in the morning, I heard a loud bang.
"I quickly went down and I saw a man and a toddler lying on the grass patch below the block opposite mine.
Father and son who fell to death shared a close relationship
He was described as a cheerful and easy-going person who always had a smile while at work.
So Mr Desmond Soong's death on Monday afternoon came as a huge shock to many of his former colleagues. Mr Soong, 30, and his father, Mr Soong Ya Cai, 66, had fallen to their deaths at Block 605, Clementi West Street 1.
Said Mr Chen, 30, who worked with the IT specialist at the same company for about four years: "He never shared with us any of his problems, so we did not know what could have happened at home which led to this."
Father and son found dead after fall
On Monday, a woman returned home after a morning residents' committee (RC) singing session to find her husband and son dead. The woman, who was with her daughter, went into shock and wailed in distress.
Her husband's body was at the foot of Block 605, Clementi West Street 1, while her grown son's body was on the roof of the walkway. At times, the woman's daughter, the youngest of her three children, believed to be in her 20s, had to restrain her mother, who took out her grief on a policewoman at the scene by hitting the latter.
Her other son, who is the oldest child, was seen comforting his mother.
Father and son found dead after fall
Yesterday, a woman returned home after a morning residents’ committee singing session to find her husband and son dead. The woman went into shock and wailed in distress. Her daughter, believed to be in her 20s, had to restrain her.
Her husband’s body was at the foot of Block 605, Clementi West Street 1, while her grown son’s body was on the roof of the walkway.
It is still not clear how the tragedy unfolded, though some residents claimed that the two men were arguing before the fall.
Body of 58-year-old man found in Kallang River on Friday morning
The body of a 58-year-old man was found in Kallang River at about 8.10am on Friday morning.
A cleaner spotted the floating body in the river near Blk 3 Beach Road. The 58-year-old, who was wearing a grey shirt, was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
Chinese evening newspaper Shin Min Daily News said the 70-year-old cleaner had been told by his boss to go check out the river, after someone told the boss that he saw a body in the river. The cleaner told his boss and called the police after confirming that there was really a body.
Other bodies found at reservoirs
Oct 2009
A body was found floating in Mandai Reservoir by a passer-by. Police said that the 1.58m-tall Chinese woman was believed to be between 30 and 40 years old.
May 2009
A freelance canoe instructor, 35, drowned while coaching students at MacRitchie Reservoir. His canoe had capsized, causing him to fall into the water.
Feb 2008
The body of a woman was found near the banks of Lower Seletar Reservoir, among the rocks and grass near the water's edge. There were no visible signs of injury on the woman's body.
Sept 2007
The bloated body of a woman was found in the waters near the shore of Bedok Reservoir. She appeared to be in her 30s and had no visible injuries.
Sept 2007
The badly decomposed body of a man was found in Kranji Reservoir. He was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and brown bermuda shorts.
Aug 2007
The body of a 69-year-old widow was found floating in Seletar Reservoir. She had been reported missing by her family the day before.
May 2007
The body of Indian national Khoka Mohammed Burhan, 32, was found in Lower Seletar Reservoir. The day before, he and his wife, 27, were in a kayak when it overturned. Barely two hours before Mr Khoka's body was found, a passer-by spotted the body of a woman floating near the fishing jetty at the same reservoir. She was in her 60s.
Nov 2004
The decomposed naked body of a 32-year-old system analyst was discovered at Seletar Reservoir. He was due to fly back to India to get married the following month.
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