A two-year-old girl whose remains were found in a flat at Block 52 Chin Swee Road on Sept 10 is said to have been murdered by her parents more than five years back, in March 2014.
The couple were taken to court yesterday and charged with the murder of their daughter in the unit.
They cannot be named due to a gag order, but the police said on Monday that the 31-year-old man and the 30-year-old woman had been in remand since June last year over other unrelated offences.
The girl's death came to light only last week after the police responded to a call for assistance at 8.30pm on Sept 10.
The officers entered the one-room rental flat on the eighth storey of the block and found the toddler's remains inside.
The Straits Times understands that the remains had been kept inside a metal pot.
The man had earlier been charged with two drug-related offences and one count of rioting. These cases are still pending.
Before the woman was charged with murder, she was sentenced on Sept 9 to five years and two months in jail after she pleaded guilty to three drug-related charges and one count of theft.
The couple are believed to be married with at least three children, and are the registered occupants of the flat where the remains were found.
No one answered the door when ST visited the flat last Thursday. A chain with a padlock secured the gate.
Neighbours said a strong smell - with one describing it as "something rotting" - wafted through the corridor at least a week before the body was found in the unit.
Police were seen leaving the flat with a metal pot and a bag, according to Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Wanbao.
Residents at the block said a man in his 20s had been living in the flat on his own for the past three or four months, and a couple with children had lived there before him.
It is understood that a man was in the flat when police went there on Sept 10, but it is unclear how he is related to the couple.
The couple's cases have been adjourned to next Tuesday.
Offenders convicted of murder can face the death penalty. They can also be jailed for life and caned.
