59-year-old man arrested for suspected murder of flatmate in Redhill

SINGAPORE — The police have arrested a 59-year-old man for his suspected involvement in the murder of his 61-year-old flatmate at a block of rental flats along Redhill Close on Friday (March 17). 

The police said in a statement on Friday that they were alerted to the alleged murder case at 10.50am.

Upon arrival, the officers found a 61-year-old man lying motionless with multiple wounds inside the flat. 

The man was later pronounced dead by paramedics on the scene. 

The 59-year-old man, who is a tenant of the flat at Block 90 Redhill Close along with the deceased, was arrested at the scene. 

He will be charged on Saturday with murder. The offence carries the death penalty.

TODAY understands that there was a dispute between the victim and the suspect.

Police investigations are ongoing. 

NEIGHBOUR ‘SHOCKED’ BY CASE 

Most of the 10 residents at the block who spoke to TODAY said that they were not aware of the suspected murder on the fifth-floor flat at the end of a corridor, until police officers knocked on their doors or they read media reports about it. 

A resident on the fifth floor, who gave his name only as Mr Bachik, said: “I was shocked to hear about it.”

The 52-year-old had learned of the incident when approached by police officers. 

He added that although he has lived there for about 10 years, he did not know the two men very well. He would exchange brief greetings with them when they bumped into each other.

Residents described the precinct as trouble-free and most people who live there are seniors.

The flats in the block and another one opposite it are Housing and Development Board public rental units.

Some residents in these units are paired with strangers under the Joint Singles Scheme, though it is not clear if this is so for the two men in the alleged murder case.

A sixth-floor resident, Ms Jamilah Poinmen, 56, said: “Some youths gather and chat loudly at the void deck frequently, but things have never escalated into any fight or incident as far as we’re aware.”

The housewife did not recall hearing any noise coming from the flat that day.

One resident who gave her name only as Ms Bella, 47, said that she saw many police officers and vehicles in the area from about 11am.

She said that looking up from the opposite block, she could see a bespectacled man leaning against the wall at the staircase landing of the fifth floor, with police officers around him, next to the unit where the suspected murder took place. 
 

When TODAY arrived at the scene at about 2pm, the police had cordoned off one-third of the fifth floor. They removed the cordon tapes sometime after 6.30pm.

Bloodied shoe prints were seen along the corridor floor, stretching for almost 10m, but mostly right outside the corner unit where the alleged victim was found.

No resident responded when reporters knocked on the doors of the flats that were earlier cordoned off by police tape.