With it being scary enough to experience one death in the household, there’s no denying that having two deaths in one household is something that most of us will never want to experience.
And I think all of us will agree that it’s even scarier when both deaths happen on the same day and at different places.
But that’s what happened to a grandfather-granddaughter duo living at Bukit Batok, for both were found dead within minutes of each other on Thursday (23 June) evening at different blocks within Bukit Batok.
The incidents, which happened at Block 115 Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 and Block 363 Bukit Batok Street 363, involved a 14-year-old girl and her 84-year-old grandfather.
After initial investigations, the police found out about the familial relationship that both had with each other, and found out that they lived in the same HDB unit as well before their passing.
Based on reports, the police are currently investigating if both cases are linked to each other.
Girl’s Death: Found Dead at an HDB Block Void Deck
The police told Lianhe Zaobao that they first received a notice that someone had collapsed near the void deck of Block 115 Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 at 5.50pm on 23 June.
The person who had been found near the void deck of the HDB block turned out to be a 14-year-old teenage girl in Secondary Two.
Paramedics pronounced the girl dead at the scene after arriving at the void deck.
The cause of death is still unclear.
However, according to neighbours in the area that Zaobao spoke to, the girl had fallen from the building before landing near the void deck.
The police ruled out murder afterwards after initial investigations as well.
Man’s Death: Found Dead at Home With Chest Injuries
At 5.55pm on the same day, merely 5 minutes after the previous case, the police received another report of unnatural death.
This time, a 84-year-old man was found after he had collapsed in a seventh-floor HDB unit at Block 363 Bukit Batok Street 363.
When the police arrived at the scene, the man was no longer breathing.
He suffered injuries to his chest as well.
According to police investigations, both grandfather and granddaughter lived in the unit where the grandfather’s body was found.
Family Background
When reporters from Zaobao visited the affected unit yesterday (24 June) at around 4.30pm, there were three relatives of the deceased talking to plainclothes police officers.
The trio declined to be interviewed by reporters.
A Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) van was also seen driving in the area around the HDB blocks at that time.
Apart from that, three investigators were seen entering the HDB unit to collect evidence. The investigators only left the house at around 6pm that day.
According to Zaobao, there were four occupants who lived in the affected unit: the girl, the grandfather, as well as both of the girl’s parents.
Neighbours’ Remarks
When speaking to Zaobao, a neighbour staying on the same floor as the affected family who went by the name of Linda revealed that everything seemed “back to normal” after Thursday (23 June) evening.
Linda recalled how there was no noise or ruckus about the incident until around seven police officers came to cordon off the area.
Linda added that it was only then that she realised that the unfortunate incident had occurred.
She also shared how the 84-year-old grandfather had a leg operation before and needed a walking stick to get around.
He would go to the nearby coffee shop every morning while “neatly dressed”, and would greet his neighbours in a friendly manner whenever he saw them as well.
Linda also revealed that she saw the 14-year-old girl’s mother seated outside the unit with a sorrowful expression after the incident.
The girl’s mother was apparently trying to cooperate with police investigations.
Another neighbour living on the eighth floor of the same block told Zaobao that police officers completely cordoned off the elevator and staircase areas of the block.
Officers also went door to door to ask if residents had observed anything strange recently.
As for Block 115 Bukit Batok West Avenue 6, the block where the 14-year-old was found dead, a resident living in the opposite block told Zaobao that her neighbour’s domestic helper heard a loud thud from the kitchen on the day of the incident.
After hearing the loud noise, she saw that the young girl had fallen from the building.
According to the resident, the girl broke several branches and landed on the grass patch in front of the HDB block.
She added that the police arrived at the scene not long after the incident but only removed the teenager’s body at around 9pm that day, meaning that the police spent roughly around three hours investigating the scene after the teenager’s death.
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