THE body of a man in his 60s was found in the Kallang River yesterday morning.

The body was discovered in the area near Water-Venture (Kallang) and before the Singapore Flyer, which is frequented by dragon-boaters and picnic- goers on weekends.

The police said they received a call at about 10.40am. When they arrived at the scene, they found a man who was "lying motionless".

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) dispatched an ambulance. An SCDF spokesman said the body, which was 100m from the shoreline, was "manually retrieved".

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene.

Members of the Waterways Watch Society, a volunteer group which patrols and does water testing at the Kallang River in collaboration with the PUB, Land Transport Authority and National Parks Board, were shocked by the incident.

Tax administrator Patricia Sng, 39, who was on a boat patrol, said it was the first time she had seen a body in the river in the five years she had been with the group.

Police are investigating the case, which has been classified as unnatural death.

WALTER SIM