The woman, who is believed to have been in her 20s, was apparently naked and bloody.

A foreign worker is believed to have gone to work on the third-storey unit of Viz@Holland and found the body. He alerted his supervisors, who called the police at about 10.45am.

Police have classified the case as murder. No arrests have been made. This is the second murder case here within a week.

After yesterday's grisly discovery, the police - including the elite Special Operations Command (SOC) - cordoned off the entire construction site.

The site's workers, who are believed to number more than 100, were not allowed to leave until after 8pm last night.

Most refused to comment, but two of them claimed that the police took swabs and photographs and checked all their work permits.

The workers, who are mostly from China, India and Bangladesh, were escorted even when they went to use the portable toilets at the site. Some of the foreign workers live on site.

It is not known if the murder happened at the site or if the body had been taken there. A security firm has a guard there both day and night. It declined comment.

Viz@Holland is being built on the former Holland View site.

The 165-unit freehold development, which is just a 10-minute stroll from Holland Village, was launched at the end of 2005.

Nearby residents said they were surprised to see the red SOC vehicles in their District 10 neighbourhood.

'I didn't expect something like this to happen in this quiet and safe area,' said Mr Lee Siew Wah, a 72-year-old retiree.