68-year-old man found dead in Bedok unit full of junk
It took hours to reach body after neighbour called cops over stench
Neighbours were used to a pungent odour when they walked past the 12th storey unit in Block 519 Bedok North Avenue 1, but over last week, the stench progressively became worse.
On Saturday night, a resident called the police, and a 68-year-old man was later found dead in the flat.
The man, described by neighbours as a hoarder, was found after officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spent hours in the unit wading through piles of junk.
An SCDF spokesman said they had to use a hydraulic tool to force their way into the unit and Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported on Sunday that more than 10 large bins of junk had to be removed to get to the body.
Paramedics at the scene pronounced the man dead, said the SCDF, and the police have classified it as unnatural death.
Neighbours said the man, who lived alone, had hoarded stuff over the years, including newspapers, magazines, toys and umbrellas.
A neighbour in his 40s, who did not want to be identified, told The New Paper yesterday that the SCDF and police were trying to get into the unit even at midnight.
He said: "It was only about a week ago that the stench became increasingly strong and a neighbour called the police on Saturday. I'm not sure how long they took to find him, but even at midnight the police and SCDF were still gathered outside the unit."
He and his wife would hold their breath whenever they walked past the unit.
"He has been living here about 40 years, and would come back only at night about three times a week with more bags of trash," he said.
"His death was unfortunate... We saw him becoming more frail in the past three years, and even though the authorities wanted to help him, he ignored and evaded them."
Dr Brian Yeo, a psychiatrist, told TNP that the mindset of a hoarder defies rational logic.
"Many of them collect items for a sense of security, and when taken to extremes, they might hoard bags of trash," he said.
"The items represent who and what he or she is, forming a compulsion to collect items."
He said family members are crucial in helping a hoarder.
"Most cases are not detected, because the hoarded items are inside the unit, and except for family members, (others such as) neighbours usually won't know what's going on," he said.
"Hoarders also do not voluntarily seek treatment and only when family members step in do they get help."
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