Bishan murder case: Deceased man, 73, was ‘frail and weak’, neighbours say

SINGAPORE — A 73-year-old wheelchair-bound man who was allegedly murdered by a 49-year-old domestic worker was found lying on a bed in the living room when his wife returned to their home in Bishan, a neighbour said.

The neighbour, who lives next door to the couple and wanted to be known only as Madam Lim, told TODAY that the lights were off when the deceased’s wife returned home on Thursday (April 28) evening. 

The domestic worker, who neighbours believe is Indonesian, was nowhere to be found at that time, Mdm Lim added, saying that these were what the man's wife told her.

The couple lived in a public housing block consisting of two-storey maisonette flats along Bishan Street 23.

On Friday, the police said that they had arrested the domestic worker, who was not named, for the suspected murder of the man. She will be charged on Saturday.

Details of how the domestic worker was found and nabbed were not stated. The police were alerted to the death at around 8.50pm on Thursday.

Mdm Lim, the man’s neighbour who is in her 60s, declined to give more details. Other neighbours who were interviewed did not know the names of the deceased and his family.

However, Mrs Tan Hwee Yee, who lives on the same floor as the deceased, said that aside from the domestic worker, the couple also had a 28-year-old daughter living with them.

Mrs Tan, a 60-year-old manager, described the deceased as a quiet but friendly man who would greet his neighbours when he saw them.

She said that he used to work as a taxi driver before he became ill about two years ago, which was when she started seeing the domestic worker in the household.

“He just became so frail and weak,” Mrs Tan said in Mandarin, adding that he had to be pushed around in a wheelchair when he left the house.

Mrs Tan also said that the wife was a jovial woman who would stop to chat with neighbours when she saw them.

One time, the wife was returning home with packets of food and Mrs Tan asked her why she did not get the domestic worker to prepare meals for the family instead.

“She said, ‘I didn’t want to give her more work to do’. She is a good person,” Mrs Tan recalled.

She also remembered that the wife sought her advice on what to do with the domestic worker because she kept asking for a pay raise.

Another neighbour, who lives several floors below the victim’s unit and declined to be named, said that the wife had spoken to her about some disputes she had with the domestic worker.

QUIET NEIGHBOURHOOD

Most of the residents in the 16-storey block who were interviewed said that they were shocked by the alleged murder in their quiet neighbourhood. The block is located just behind a Neighbourhood Police Centre.

Those approached by TODAY, including Mdm Lim, said that they did not hear or pick up anything unusual on Thursday.

Mr Bernard Ong, who is in his 50s and works in operations, said that there is often very little shouting or any kind of noisy outburst heard.

“It’s very peaceful here… It’s shocking and we didn’t know there was a murder till we read it in the news,” he said.

Mr Ong said that his wife saw “police everywhere” at around 9pm when she got home on Thursday.

A woman who works at a convenience store at the block also saw many paramedics arriving around the same time.

The 63-year-old who declined to give her name said: “My first thought was that someone had a heart attack and was either dying or dead because the paramedics were running, and that means it is quite serious.”

She added that the police had asked her if they could view any security camera footage she might have in the event they needed to do so.