A five-year-old boy, who was left with his elder brother, was found dead due to unnatural causes in their home in western Singapore on Sunday morning.
It is understood that Muhamad Irfan and his seven-year-old brother have been under the care of their aunt, Sapiah Awang, 47, who lives in a HDB flat in Teck Whye estate, which is part of Choa Chu Kang. The boys' parents are currently in jail.
A neighbour said that Sapiah, who is employed as a dishwasher, discovered the boy lying motionless on a mattress in the middle of his living room upon returning home from work at around 2 am, reported The Straits Times.
"She was frantic when she ran to my house and asked me for help," said neighbour Mohd Atatn, 82, who resides four doors away from Sapiah.
The retiree said that he followed to her house and saw the boy lying on the mattress, while the boy's brother was sitting quietly next to his body. He also told Sapiah to inform the police.
The brothers are believed to have been playing police and thief, and had used strings to tie each other up on the night of the tragedy.
Marks, which Mohd Atan described as "blue-black", were found on Irfan's wrists. It is understood that he also suffered injuries and bruises on other parts of his body, believed to have been caused by rough play.
Still, it is not known whether those injuries are related to his death.
Other neighbours interviewed by the same paper said that it was common for both boys to be left alone at home when their aunt was at work.
However, they did not know much information about Sapiah, or for how long the boys have been under her care.
A neighbour who declined to be named said she had seen the brothers playing with each other, but had never seen them quarrel or fight.
A police spokesman said the police received a call at 2.15am, informing them that a boy was lying in his flat and could not be woken up. He was pronounced dead at 2.35am.
Both Sapiah and Irfan's elder brother are assisting the police in investigations, although no arrests have been made. Investigations are going on and the case has been classified as an unnatural death.
-- Yahoo!
so many deaths lately, in reservoirs lah,in Singapore river la. Kaoz.... What kinda country we living in?
Police have arrested the aunt of a five-year-old boy who was found dead in a flat in Teck Whye estate in western Singapore on Sunday.
It is understood that the victim, Muhamad Irfan, and his seven-year-old elder brother had been under the care of their aunt Sapiah Awang, 47, for about two months.
The boys' parents and three older siblings are believed to be in jail for drug-related offences. Thrice a month, the aunt would take the boys to visit the relatives in prison, reported The Straits Times.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Irfan was found lying motionless on a mattress in the middle of the living room of the two-room flat in Teck Whye.
It is believed that Sapiah was later arrested on the same day for ill treatment of a child or young person.
According to friends and neighbours, the woman — who is employed as a dishwasher — would tie the hands of the two boys while she was at work, to prevent them from creating mischief. Both boys also stopped attending school beginning this year.
Neighbour Ramlah Mohamad, 47, said that the aunt, whom she has known for around seven years, told her before that she could not cope with taking care of the children as they were "playful" and that she was tired and stressed.
Ramlah added that she was with the woman at the coffee shop till about 1.30am on Sunday. However, the aunt left later than her, and upon reaching home, discovered that the boy had stopped breathing.
It is reported that, at that time, a 72-year-old family friend of the aunt — who had been staying there for a month — was also in the flat. The man, who declined to be named, said he would cook simple meals and feed the children.
"That particular afternoon, I untied their hands to give them water and then went to sleep. The next thing I knew, she woke me up, screaming," he added.
Both he and neighbour Mohd Atan, 82, claimed they saw blood on the boy's genitals when paramedics were checking the body, as well as bruises.
Marks, which Mohd Atan described as "blue-black", were also found on Irfan's wrists. It is understood that he also suffered injuries and bruises on other parts of his body, believed to have been caused by rough play.
However, it is not known whether those injuries are related to his death.
A police spokesman had previously said that the police received a call at 2.15am, informing them that boy was lying in his flat and could not be woken up. He was pronounced dead at 2.35am. Investigations are going on and the case has been classified as an unnatural death.
-- Yahoo!