Twins found dead in canal in Upper Bukit Timah to be cremated
The bodies of the 11-year-old twins who were found dead in a canal last Friday (Jan 21) in Upper Bukit Timah were taken to the undertaker on Monday afternoon.
At about 2pm, the older sister of the boys, Aston and Ethan Yap, was seen arriving at the Health Sciences Authority’s mortuary at Singapore General Hospital.
Dressed in a black top and pants and was carrying two black bags, she is believed to be in her 20s, and stared blankly ahead as she entered the premises.
Almost an hour later, another woman whom The Straits Times understands to be a relative of the boys got out of a white Nissan car and entered the mortuary.
Shielded by auxiliary police, the women got into the white Nissan car at about 3.15pm and left.
Shortly after, two white vans carrying the brothers' bodies exited the mortuary as well.
Mr Fong Chun Cheong, the funeral director handling the twins' funeral arrangements, said the boys will be cremated later at Mandai Crematorium on Monday.
The funeral director of Singapore Yin Feng Shui Funeral Services, who said he was a family friend, said in Mandarin: "The family is still in shock and unable to accept this reality."
He added that the twins' parents are "good and well respected people".
Mr Fong said he had advised the family to cremate the bodies as he could not be sure of their condition. This was because no embalming had been done for the bodies over the past four days.
He added: "Under Chinese customs, we wouldn't want those who are older to send off their children. So normally, if a child passes away, there will not be a wake or the wake will be held for three days."
But these are special circumstances, he noted.
Last Friday, the brothers were found motionless in a canal near a playground along Greenridge Crescent after their father called the police for help at about 6.25pm. They were pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
The boys' father, Xavier Yap Jung Houn, 48, was arrested late on Saturday for his suspected involvement in their deaths.
On Monday, he was charged with Ethan's murder.
The police prosecutor asked for Yap to be remanded for one week with permission to be taken out for investigations, including scene visits.
Yap's lawyer, Mr Anil Singh Sandhu, told the court the family was grieving the loss of the two young children.
Ethan and Aston, were said to have special needs and were believed to be students of a school in the Eng Kong estate area.
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