Police spend 4 hours looking for body in trash
by Lianhe Wanbao
1 June 2012 8:51 PM | Updated 9:03 PM
The police spent four hours digging through rubbish to retrieve a corpse that had been buried in a house full of trash.
The dead man is only known as Ellis. The 59-year-old stayed in a four-room flat on the second floor of block 528 at Hougang Avenue 6.
The body was found at 3:25pm yesterday after his neighbour called the police complaining of a stench from the house.
According to her, she last saw the man about a week ago. The smell from the decomposing body began to emit from the apartment a few days ago. Initially, she thought it was the smell of a dead rat. However, as the stench got stronger, she decided to call the police.
The house was filled with trash in the living room and bedrooms. Even the cops were unable to enter without face masks due to the intolerable smell.
As the man had not been paying his utility bills, the police had to search for the body using flash lights.
The police were able to contact his family members who arrived at the scene at about 7pm. After they had confirmed the identity of the body, the police spent the next four hours clearing the junk in the house before finally removing the body at 11pm.
His neighbours said that they do not have no idea why he started collecting trash.
“We often see him eating food people have thrown into dustbins or other places.” they said. They added that he looked to be in good health before passing away.
The man used to be living with his wife, son and daughter until he got divorced four to five years ago. He has been staying alone ever since.
According to his son-in-law, the man refused to accept money from family members even though he was always broke. He chose to live by himself without water and electricity.
The son-in-law added that he went to visit Ellis with his wife earlier in the week, but he refused to open the door.
Ellis is believed to have been supported by the good will of his neighbour and assistance from the Town Council. His neighbours said they would give him $10 sometimes.
Although there was no sign of struggle at the scene, the police have classified the case as unnatural death and they are investigating.
Source:Lianhe Wanbao, 1 June 2012.
