Visit any hawker centre in Singapore, and one might see patrons snoozing after one too many drinks.
Thus, a man seen resting his head on the table at a hawker centre on North Bridge Road would’ve appeared to be one of them.
However, he was found to be dead more than half a day later.
Source: Google Maps
A cleaner who saw him in the morning thought he was a drunk diner.
The sad incident took place on Sunday (19 Mar) at North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Mr Liu Zhenguang (transliterated from Mandarin), a cleaning supervisor at the hawker centre, saw the man at 9am when he reported for work.
He was resting his head on a table in front of the drinks stall and appeared to be sleeping, the 66-year-old cleaner said.
Having seen many a drunk diner sleeping it off at the hawker centre, Mr Liu thought the man was one of them.
Thus, he didn’t bother him.
After almost the entire day, Mr Liu noticed something amiss only at 8pm that night, when he was washing the floor.
The man was still lying at his spot.
He went over to try to wake him but couldn’t rouse him after about three minutes of shaking and shouting.
When Mr Liu finally called for help, he was asked to check whether the man was breathing, and he found his stomach rigid, with no breath detected.
When medics arrived, they found that the man had, unfortunately, passed away.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
He was then placed on the ground, on top of a cloth.
The dreaded police blue tent was then used to cover his body.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
The body was removed from the scene only at 11pm — about 20 hours since the man was first seen — after the police concluded their investigations, reported Shin Min.
The police confirmed that a 56-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
Preliminary investigations showed no evidence of criminal activity in this case.
However, Mr Liu told the paper that he felt guilty for not trying to wake the deceased up earlier, saying,
Perhaps he would still wake up, and could’ve been saved.
He added that he usually doesn’t bother sleeping diners as they sometimes make a lot of noise when woken.
Stallholders said sleeping diners are a common sight in the hawker centre after the lunchtime rush is over, as it’s quieter.
Often, elderly or drunk people would lie on the chairs or table to snooze, so they’re used to it.
MS News extends our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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