When the occupant of a Toa Payoh flat failed to pay her rent for more than two years, HDB decided to repossess the unit.
Contractors broke into the flat on 16 June 2022 to do that but instead made a shocking discovery — a skeleton.
The identity of the person to whom the skeleton belonged is now officially undetermined, a state coroner said.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
However, it’s likely to be the elderly woman who was living in the flat.
During a hearing on Thursday (6 Apr), the state coroner told the court that a woman named Madam Cheng Ah Imm lived in the fourth-floor unit at Block 15 Toa Payoh Lorong 7, reported The Straits Times (ST).
Source: Google Maps
The 73-year-old had lived there with her brother but occupied the flat alone since he moved into a nursing home in 2016.
According to Shin Min Daily News, her brother has since passed away.
She has another brother, who has also reportedly passed away.
In order to find out its identity, DNA testing was done on the skeleton, the coroner said.
It revealed that the bones likely belonged to Madam Cheng, but this couldn’t be determined with certainty.
Investigators had also taken DNA samples from a mask belonging to her brother and compared them with that of the skeleton.
This showed that the two samples were taken from siblings.
However, as the brother’s sample wasn’t taken directly from his body, it wasn’t enough to conclusively determine that the skeleton was Madam Cheng’s.
Apparently, many lingering questions remain over the case.
The last time the rent on the flat was paid was on 23 Mar 2020.
But when neighbours were queried, one said she saw an elderly woman at the unit in 2021, said an investigation officer.
However, she didn’t know who the woman was.
Old leaflets were found outside her door by the contractors who came on 16 Jun 2022.
As the door was locked and had no signs of forced entry until the contractors broke it open, the police ruled out foul play.
Madam Cheng reportedly has no other living relatives.
Due to the failure to determine the skeleton’s identity, the coroner recorded an open verdict on the case.
So it looks like unless new evidence somehow turns up, this will have to be chalked up as another mystery.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook and Google Maps.
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