A 54-year-old man was found dead at the foot of a Housing Board block in Little India yesterday morning.
The police, who were alerted to the case at about 7am, also found the body of his mother in their 11th-floor unit in Block 637 Veerasamy Road.
In response to queries, they said the 82-year-old woman was found lying motionless.
Both mother and son were pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
The police said they are investigating the unnatural deaths.
A neighbour in a nearby unit, who declined to be named, said the man had lived in the flat for about 40 years.
After his father died about 10 years ago, he and his mother were the only occupants of the flat, said the 60-year-old retiree.
"He loved his mother. He would take her to see the doctor and will go out to buy food for her daily," he added.
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Samaritans of Singapore 1800-221-4444
Singapore Association for Mental Health 1800-283-7019
Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline 6389-2222
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Care Corner Counselling Centre (Mandarin) 1800-353-5800
The last time he spoke to the man was on Sunday, when they discussed the Home Improvement Programme. Renovation works for their two units were supposed to begin tomorrow.
"I knew them for many years, but whenever we talked, I never asked him about any problems he might have that we could help with. I feel bad for not taking action," he said.
He believed the family had financial problems as the man had told him that he stopped working after his father died to take care of his mother. He previously worked as a warehouse storeman.
He had an older brother and two older sisters. His sisters live abroad and return to visit the family once a year.
The retiree said the man had borrowed money from him fewer than 10 times in the past 10 years. They were to pay for his mother's medical expenses.
"Each time, he would borrow about $50 or $100, but he would always return it within six months," he said.
He added that the mother had been wheelchair-bound since the start of the year.
"We could hear her scolding him every day, very loudly from morning till night. But we never understood what she was saying as she spoke in Tamil."
A 72-year-old resident, who gave his name as Mr Wang, told Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Wanbao that the woman suffered from dementia.
He added that he last saw the mother-and-son pair on Monday evening, dressed up and heading out of their flat together.
