Police on Friday classified the case of the decapitated body found in Whampoa River as murder and investigations are ongoing.

The police had received a call on Thursday at 7.33am, after a jogger and a cleaner saw part of the body - wrapped in what appeared to be trash bags - in the waterway between McNair and St George's roads just after sunrise.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters, who were called to the scene minutes later, then retrieved the body.

The Straits Times understands that the woman was wearing just a pair of black pants when her body was brought to land. She has yet to be identified.