Man, 22, arrested for murder after woman found dead in Choa Chu Kang

SINGAPORE – A man was arrested for murder after a woman he knew was found dead at an HDB lift lobby in Choa Chu Kang.

The police said on May 27 that they received a call for assistance at Block 248 Choa Chu Kang Avenue 2 on May 26 at about 8.55pm.

Upon arrival, officers found a woman lying motionless at the 12th-floor lift lobby.

The 21-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedic.

A 22-year-old man was arrested for murder and was subsequently taken to the National University Hospital.

A resident of the block had told The Straits Times on May 26 that she had heard a loud noise coming from the foot of the block, and when she looked down, she saw a man lying under a dustbin on the ground floor.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman who died and the man were known to each other, the police said. Investigations are ongoing.

Police cordons had been removed from the block by the time ST visited the scene at about 11am. On the first floor, a damaged green bin as well as reddish stains that had earlier been seen on the ground floor were also no longer there.

Residents said police officers had remained at the scene until about 5am before leaving later in the morning. Neighbours told ST that they had been discussing among themselves what had unfolded the night before, with many saying they had learnt details of the incident only through news reports.

A 48-year-old woman who wanted to be known as Ms Seema, who lives on the second floor of the block, told ST that the man likely does not live there, as she had seen a woman, who appeared to be his mother, arriving from elsewhere last night.

“I heard her saying ‘where is my son’ when she arrived.”

Ms Seema, a homemaker, was in the kitchen when she first heard sounds from the estate’s rubbish chute area, which is just below her window. She said the man appeared to have fallen from a height, but looked alive.

Another neighbour, Ms Rysha, 21, who has lived in the block for about 15 years, said there have been several new residents who moved into the block recently.

Ms Rysha, who lives on the 13th floor, said she did not hear anything on the night of the incident, and was alerted to the presence of police and paramedics, when her brother returned home a while later.

She was shocked to learn about what had happened, especially to find out how young the alleged victim was.

“She is the same age as me,” Ms Rysha noted.