Daughter in Sengkang flat deaths died of starvation and dehydration
At a coroner’s inquiry on 31 March, a police inspector stated that the daughter in the Sengkang flat deaths likely died of starvation and dehydration. She weighed just 24kg when found.
They believed that her father had died months earlier, with both deaths attributed to natural causes.
Source: Ms Xu on Gallium, Inria
Daughter weighed just 24kg when police found bodies in Sengkang flat
On 6 Oct, 2025, police officers found a father and daughter dead in their unit at Block 324D Sengkang East Way.
Their neighbour, who lives one floor below them, called the police after a foul-smelling red liquid started leaking from their ceiling.
According to The Straits Times, the deceased are 48-year-old Ms Xu Na and her 74-year-old father, Mr Xu Baolu.
Police Inspector 2 Irfan Al-Nazirul testified at the coroner’s inquiry into their deaths that they had died from natural causes, with no foul play involved.
Ms Xu weighed only 24kg when her body was found, and her death was attributed to starvation and dehydration.
She suffered from psychosis with auditory hallucinations, according to an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) report.
Source: Ms Xu on Gallium, Inria
Ms Xu often refused to eat or drink out of paranoia about being poisoned.
Insp Irfan noted that no food or stove was found in the unit.
Mr Xu allegedly removed the stove for his daughter’s safety.
Father believed to have died after 3 June, 2025
The investigation believes that Mr Xu died shortly after 3 June 2025, as he had made one last cash withdrawal from his bank account on that day.
When the police found his body on 6 Oct, 2025, he had already decomposed into skeletal remains. His cause of death thus could not be determined.
On 29 June, 2025, Ms Xu was seen in public for the last time at a convenience store.
She had difficulty communicating with police officers, could not remember her home address, and had only S$5.77 in her ez-link card.
Daughter took down notice from Sengkang flat door after 30 Aug, 2025
In July, the town council received complaints about a foul smell coming from several units in the block.
On 28 Aug, 2025, the town council’s representatives pasted notices on several units.
Source: Google Maps
Two days later, they found the notice still pasted on the front door of Ms Xu’s flat, although they did not report sensing a foul smell from inside.
However, when the police found their bodies in October 2025, they found the notice inside the flat with other items.
As such, the coroner’s inquiry believed that Ms Xu had survived for several months after her father’s death, before she died some time after 30 Aug, 2025.
She depended entirely on her father in day-to-day life and was in a vulnerable mental state after he died.
Deceased woman had doctorate from Cambridge University
Shin Min Daily News previously reported that Ms Xu was a National University of Singapore (NUS) graduate with a doctorate from Cambridge University.
Her classmates described her as polite and intelligent.
She also worked as a research scientist for Gallium Team in a French national research institute.
Ms Xu’s relatives in China mentioned her mental health decline, alleging that she once refused to eat or drink out of paranoia when visiting them in 2017.
If you or anyone you know needs support, do try calling these hotlines:
- Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1767
- Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222
- Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019
There are also other forms of support. For more information, visit SupportGoWhere or HealthHub’s MindSG.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Ms Xu on Gallium, Inria, and Google Maps.
