Elderly Man Found Dead in Bukit Merah Flat, Renewing Concerns Over Senior Isolation

SINGAPORE: The decomposing body of an 81-year-old man was discovered in his rental flat at Block 117 Bukit Merah View on 31 May 2025 at about 11:10am, after neighbours alerted authorities to a strong stench in the corridor.

According to Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, the smell of decomposition had spread across the corridor outside the unit. Neighbour Tok, 68, said the man lived alone and was hearing-impaired. He described the deceased as a quiet individual who would only nod in greeting and seldom spoke.

“I moved in about 14 years ago, and he was already living here then. He used to work at a petrol station before retiring,” Tok recalled. He said he first noticed the smell three days before the discovery. On the morning of 31 May, the odour grew unbearable, prompting him to contact the police.

Tok, who lives with a roommate, said they had resorted to using insect spray to mask the smell. “Now that the body has been removed, we hope the smell will dissipate soon,” he added.

Another neighbour, 40-year-old Wu, described the elderly man as someone who appeared healthy and maintained a daily routine of buying food downstairs before returning home. She noted that while the man had a son, visits were rare. Wu initially assumed the odour was coming from rubbish bins nearby, which often emitted unpleasant smells.

Police confirmed that they received a report on 31 May about the motionless man and that he was pronounced dead at the scene. Preliminary investigations suggest no foul play, though inquiries are still ongoing.

This latest case adds to a growing number of solitary deaths among seniors in Singapore, which have drawn attention to gaps in social support and the risks of isolation.

On 1 May 2025, Zaobao reported that another man in his seventies was found dead at his home in North Bridge Road, just days after neighbours had seen him greeting people. In March, skeletal remains of a 71-year-old man were discovered in a Sims Place flat when workers using a gondola spotted the body through a window. In December 2024, the decomposing bodies of a couple, 71-year-old Lim Eng Keong and 67-year-old Mary Ong, were found in their Jurong flat. Both were believed to have died of natural causes. Then-MP for Jurong Spring ward, Shawn Huang, described the couple as active participants at a local Active Ageing Centre and stressed the importance of stronger community support for seniors.

Questions have also been raised in Parliament over the lack of official data on elderly people who die alone. The Ministry of Health does not track such cases, though the Health Sciences Authority handles fewer than 100 unclaimed bodies each year. According to The Straits Times, police confirmed in August 2024 that they do not keep statistics on such incidents, though Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said officers do refer isolated seniors encountered during patrols to social services.

In May 2023, MP Yip Hon Weng called for better monitoring and intervention for seniors who resist community engagement, arguing that closer tracking could prevent similar deaths. Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim pointed to initiatives under the Ageing Action Plan, such as the Live Well, Age Well programme and outreach by Silver Generation Ambassadors, but acknowledged the need for broader community involvement to identify at-risk seniors.

Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan has also pushed for greater resources for Active Ageing Centres and improved access for staff to check on seniors living alone. Outside Parliament, independent platforms like The Online Citizen have begun documenting solitary deaths in Singapore through its politicalsg wiki, aiming to provide a centralised resource for tracking such incidents.

The Bukit Merah case now joins a list of similar tragedies that highlight the vulnerabilities of older residents in Singapore’s dense housing estates, and the urgent challenge of ensuring they do not slip unnoticed into isolation.