Singapore – After more than a year of investigations, the identity of man whose bones were found under a bridge in Kallang Bahru remains a mystery.
Extensive investigations and cross-checking with 18 unsolved missing-person cases were conducted to identify the man and figure out how he died. But to no avail, said State Coroner Adam Nakhoda on Wednesday (Jan 12), who declared an open verdict on the man’s death.
An open verdict confirms that a death was suspicious but does not identify a specific cause.
What has been established is that the man was somewhere in the 30s to 60s and that he died at least six months to a year before his bones were discovered on Nov 9, 2020, reported Channel News Asia.
He was found under the bridge when workers were erecting scaffolding under that bridge at 1 Kallang Place, under Land Transport Authority (LTA) contract. At about noon on Nov 9, 2020, a worker saw a skull and the LTA and police were quickly alerted.
When the police searched under the bridge, they found skeletal remains scattered around the top of a support beam. They also found a shirt, underwear, three clumps of hair and several strands of hair in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, a suitcase, a brown bag and a black-and-white striped bag were discovered at the riverbank near the walkway entrance where work had been going on, reported CNA.
The suitcase held a pair of jeans, underwear, a belt and a single sock, while the black-and-white bag contained faded receipts. From the bags, the officers also retrieved pieces of paper with telephone numbers.
However, no useful information linked to the case was obtained from the items. The telephone numbers also led to dead ends.
Facebook page Crime Library Singapore posted photos taken by member Joseph Tan on Nov 9, 2020, saying that 11 patrol cars were spotted in the area.
According to reports, the DNA found on the clothes did not match the dead man’s but belonged to a homeless man who would sleep under that bridge.
According to a pathologist, the man was “likely of Mongoloid racial descent,” that is, Asian.
The strong muscle attachments observed at the jawbone or mandible suggesting that the skeleton belonged to a man. A forensic odontologist, who is usually employed to examine and evaluate dental evidence in criminal investigations, said the man was likely to be right-handed.
The police did not find evidence of blunt force injuries or suspected foul play in their preliminary investigations. The man did not appear to have been a victim of a crime leading to his death./TISG
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