The police are looking for a married couple after an unidentified charred body – believed to be the body of a foetus – was allegedly found in a metal pot within a HDB flat at Block 52 Chin Swee Road on Thursday (12 Sept).

According to the Chinese daily, a strong odour emanated from a unit that is occupied by two brothers. The New Paper reported that the odour was present for as long as two weeks before the police arrived to investigate. One resident told the publication:

“I don’t know how to describe it, but the smell was unsettling. It is something I have never smelled before.”

Reporters from the New Paper who visited the unit saw that the flat appeared empty and had been padlocked shut with a thick chain. A red book with religious text was seen resting on the top frame of the gate.

Another resident told the publication that the unit was occupied by a couple with young children who had moved out sometime in the first half of the year. She said:

“A slightly plump man who looked to be in his 30s moved in four months ago and he lives by himself. Whenever I walked past, his gate and door would be open, and he would often be watching television and laughing loudly to himself.”

According to the Chinese daily, police officers were at the scene for about six hours on Thursday before finally leaving the one-room rental unit with a metal pot and bag. The police are allegedly looking for a man and a woman to assist in investigations and have approached residents in the block for information on a man, woman and child who were living in an eighth-floor unit.

The police have confirmed that they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at Block 52 Chin Swee Road on Tuesday at 8.30pm. Investigations are ongoing. -/TISG