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TRAGIC DISCOVERY: Parents of the dead girl were huddled in grief at the mortuary. The toddler had been found at the foot of their condo block. -- PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
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A JAPANESE toddler died after a fall in Signature Park condominium on Tuesday.
It is believed that 18-month-old Kotomi Watanabe fell from her eighth-storey unit in Block 52A. The condo is in Jalan Jurong Kechil.
The girl landed on a grassy patch that had concrete spots.
Yesterday morning, flowers were placed around the area by some residents.
On Tuesday, police were called to the condo at about 3.45pm. The child was found at the foot of the block and she was taken to National University Hospital, where she died.
The girl's parents are believed to be expatriates. Residents say the family has been living there for a few years.
Yesterday, a group of Japanese women who lived in neighbouring blocks stood near the child's flat and talked about the incident. Speaking to The Straits Times, one of the women said: 'The family is very upset at the moment. We are praying for them.'
Retiree Tan Yun Chee, 50, who had been visiting his grandchild in the condo, said in Mandarin: 'On Tuesday, I saw the mother clutching the child in her arms and crying. The baby was crying as well.
'Blood, which seemed to have been coming from an injury at the back of the child's head, was all over her clothing. A few women were consoling the mother.'
Some residents said the mother had gone to pick up an older daughter from school, leaving the child at home.
A fellow block resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong, lives in a ground-floor unit. He described the family as quiet, often keeping to themselves.
Added the father of two children aged eight and seven: 'I would always see the mother with the little girl as they walked around (the vicinity) and she's always chatting with other Japanese women.'
At the Singapore Casket yesterday, where the wake was held, the upset parents declined to be interviewed.
The mother, who looked drained, was close to tears while the father was silent but tense and did not wish to talk.
Police are investigating the case as an unnatural death.
diothman@sph.com.sg
tracysua@sph.com.sg
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