Two dead in separate incidents in Geylang and Yishun

Police officers examining the area where a 52-year-old's bloody body was found near a coffee shop in Geylang Lorong 23 yesterday morning. The dead man was said to be a former helper at a stall in the coffee shop. In Yishun, a 26-year-old man was foun
Police officers examining the area where a 52-year-old's bloody body was found near a coffee shop in Geylang Lorong 23 yesterday morning. The dead man was said to be a former helper at a stall in the coffee shop. ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
Police officers examining the area where a 52-year-old's bloody body was found near a coffee shop in Geylang Lorong 23 yesterday morning. The dead man was said to be a former helper at a stall in the coffee shop. In Yishun, a 26-year-old man was foun
In Yishun, a 26-year-old man was found dead outside a flat at Block 279 last night, near the sixth-floor lift. A man who lives on the same floor has been arrested. ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

A 20-year-old man was arrested last night after a 26-year-old man was found dead outside a flat at Block 279 in Yishun.

It seems that the two men knew each other, and the death was a result of a dispute between them.

In a separate incident in Geylang, the bloody body of a 52-year-old man was found on the road near a coffee shop in Lorong 23 yesterday morning. He was pronounced dead by paramedics at 8.11am.

The Sunday Times understands that the man had a deep cut from the left side of his ear to the top of his head, and a wooden stick was found nearby. A bloodied knife was also discovered, Chinese daily newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported .

Mr Farid Don, 53, told The Sunday Times that he was passing by at about 7.55am when he saw a man lying on the ground covered in blood. The man went on to pick up his phone and wallet before falling unconscious, he said, adding that he recognised the deceased as somebody who worked nearby.

Mr Don, who works at a supermarket nearby, said he also saw another Chinese man - who appeared to be in his 40s - with blood on his face walking in the direction of Geylang Lorong 19.

Chinese paper Shin Min Daily News said the dead man was a former helper at a zi char stall in a coffee shop near where his body was found.

He had stopped working there a few months ago, but went to the coffee shop every day to while away his time, said a former colleague.

A drinks stall employee named Ah Hong told Shin Min that she saw the man in the morning. His head was already bleeding as he tucked into some kway chap, she said.

As he was leaving, another man, whom she recognised as someone who also frequented the coffee shop, attacked him and then ran towards Geylang Lorong 21, she said.

The police are investigating the death. They urged anyone with information on the case to call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or send information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.

Later, at 7.57pm, police were alerted to another incident in Yishun, and paramedics pronounced the man dead at 8.29pm. The body was found near the sixth-floor lift.

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The man who was arrested also lived on the sixth floor. No weapon is believed to be involved.

According to his sister, he and the deceased, whom she said lived nearby, knew each other. The administrative assistant claimed that her brother, who is unemployed, had been "stalked" by the deceased over the last two years.

"I don't know why he started doing this. He would bang loudly on the door and ask for my brother, and my brother would tell him to go away," said the woman, who had moved out of the Yishun flat but returned yesterday to visit her mother.

Her mother was out walking the dogs in the evening and only discovered that her brother was arrested when she came back.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 10, 2016, with the headline Two dead in separate incidents in Geylang and Yishun. Subscribe