Dec 16, 2009
Body of Vietnamese student found in hostel cupboard
By Mavis Toh
THE decomposed body of a Vietnamese student was found sitting upright in the cupboard of her hostel room yesterday morning.
Friends of Ms Nguyen Cao Minh Ngoc, 24, alerted the management of the Queensway Student Hostel after they were unable to contact her for a few days.
A relationship officer opened the door to Ms Ngoc's second-floor room, only to see her foot sticking out of the cupboard door.
Ms Ngoc, who was fully clothed, is believed to have been dead for at least two days. There were no visible injuries on her body.
Fellow hostel residents said she had been in Singapore for less than six months and was studying English at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS).
Ms Nguyen Tsan Thanh Chau, 23, a student, told The Straits Times that Ms Ngoc shared a two-bed air-conditioned unit at the Queensway hostel with another Vietnamese student who went back to Vietnam on Saturday.
Ms Ngoc, who was from northern Vietnam, was short and slim with dyed hair, Ms Chau said.
'My friend actually went to the room and saw her body after the hostel officer alerted some Vietnamese students,' she said. 'He was shocked.'
Indonesian student Viola Pranata, 19, who lives in the unit beside Ms Ngoc's, said that she heard two boys screaming at about 10am yesterday.
The police arrived shortly after.
She added that she had been in Indonesia over the weekend and did not hear any sounds from her neighbour's room when she came back on Monday.
Other students interviewed said that Ms Ngoc kept to herself most of the time and had few friends. Her roommate was more sociable and friendly.
The Straits Times understands that most of the students at the hostel are foreigners studying at the MDIS. There are about 50 Vietnamese students in the two-storey housing block. A two-bed room costs about $820 for three months.
Police are investigating the case as an unnatural death.
Body of Vietnamese student found in hostel cupboard
By Mavis Toh
THE decomposed body of a Vietnamese student was found sitting upright in the cupboard of her hostel room yesterday morning.
Friends of Ms Nguyen Cao Minh Ngoc, 24, alerted the management of the Queensway Student Hostel after they were unable to contact her for a few days.
A relationship officer opened the door to Ms Ngoc's second-floor room, only to see her foot sticking out of the cupboard door.
Ms Ngoc, who was fully clothed, is believed to have been dead for at least two days. There were no visible injuries on her body.
Fellow hostel residents said she had been in Singapore for less than six months and was studying English at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS).
Ms Nguyen Tsan Thanh Chau, 23, a student, told The Straits Times that Ms Ngoc shared a two-bed air-conditioned unit at the Queensway hostel with another Vietnamese student who went back to Vietnam on Saturday.
Ms Ngoc, who was from northern Vietnam, was short and slim with dyed hair, Ms Chau said.
'My friend actually went to the room and saw her body after the hostel officer alerted some Vietnamese students,' she said. 'He was shocked.'
Indonesian student Viola Pranata, 19, who lives in the unit beside Ms Ngoc's, said that she heard two boys screaming at about 10am yesterday.
The police arrived shortly after.
She added that she had been in Indonesia over the weekend and did not hear any sounds from her neighbour's room when she came back on Monday.
Other students interviewed said that Ms Ngoc kept to herself most of the time and had few friends. Her roommate was more sociable and friendly.
The Straits Times understands that most of the students at the hostel are foreigners studying at the MDIS. There are about 50 Vietnamese students in the two-storey housing block. A two-bed room costs about $820 for three months.
Police are investigating the case as an unnatural death.
