Blood drips from HDB ceiling, leads to discovery of woman's decomposing body

Blood leaking from the ceiling of a flat in Bedok South led to a grim discovery on May 25 - the rotting body of a 77-year-old woman who had died alone in the unit above.

The incident happened at about 2.05pm at Block 163 Bedok South Road.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman's downstairs neighbours first noticed something was wrong when they saw blood dripping from the ceiling of their master bedroom and detected a foul stench.

One of them, Ms Zeng, 70, said her son made the discovery at around 1pm and alerted her immediately.

"I saw blood dripping and even smelled a foul odour," she told reporters.

"We realised something was wrong, so we went upstairs and found the victim's sister standing outside the unit. We persuaded her to call the police," she added.

Police arrived at the scene shortly after, and by 4pm, the corridor outside the unit had been cordoned off.

A crime scene investigation (CSI) vehicle was also spotted parked at the foot of the block.

The smell upstairs was reportedly overwhelming.

Residents said the woman, known affectionately as "Nancy", had lived in the flat alone for more than 25 years.

Ms Zeng's husband, Mr Ou, 72, said: "We don't know what to do now. The smell is unbearable. We will sleep in the guest room first and contact the authorities later to see how to solve the problem."

Another neighbour, Mr Salama, 61, said Nancy's sister had turned up at around 10am that day to check on her, but no one answered the door.

"I got home at around 11am and she asked me if I'd seen Nancy," he recalled.

"We knocked on the door and could already smell a stench coming from inside."

Separately, another neighbour said a food delivery bag had been hanging on the doorknob for two days - a sign that something might have been wrong.

The sister returned home to search for a spare key but couldn't find it, and later called a locksmith. But the locksmith refused to open the door after detecting the foul smell.

It wasn't until the neighbour downstairs came up to complain about blood seeping through the ceiling that the woman decided to alert the authorities.

A black vehicle from the undertaker arrived at around 6pm to remove the body.

When contacted, the police confirmed they received a report and found the 77-year-old woman lying motionless in the unit. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Preliminary investigations ruled out foul play. Police said investigations are ongoing.