Man found dead near dragon playground in Toa Payoh

Police put up a blue tent at the location where a man was found kneeling face down near the iconic dragon playground on March 3, 2016. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

SINGAPORE - A man was found dead in a kneeling position near Toa Payoh Lorong 5 on Thursday (March 3) evening.

Passers-by called the police when they found the man, who was kneeling face down on a path near the iconic dragon playground.

Police said they received a call at 6.13pm about the incident at Block 29, Toa Payoh Lorong 5.

Officers found a 60-year-old man lying motionless at the location, police said. He was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

Two construction workers at a work site opposite the playground said they saw the man on the path, which was about 200m from their site.

One said he noticed the man there at about 5.30pm, and a few passers-by later gathered and one must have called the police, he said.

"He looked like he was praying," the worker added.

Ms Santha Sarasamma, 73, was walking back to her home at Block 29 from the bus stop when she saw three people gathered around a kneeling man at about 6.25pm.

When the retiree got closer, she realised he was dead, as his neck was twisted in an unnatural position, she told The Straits Times.

One side of his face was pressed on the ground, and his hands were cupping his mobile phone in front of him, she said.

There were a few paths to the two blocks of flats there - 29 and 31 - but this was the one that people "seldom used", she said.

Police said they are investigating the unnatural death.

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