Police carrying out investigations at the scene at Block 166 Hougang Avenue 1 on March 29, 2023.- ST
SINGAPORE (The Straits TImes/Asia News Network): A baby’s body was found at the foot of Block 166 Hougang Avenue 1 on Wednesday (March 29) morning and an 18-year-old woman is assisting with investigations.
The police said they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at 11.30am on Wednesday.
When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at around 1.20pm, a blue tent was seen on a grass patch next to the block.
A police investigator was briefly seen holding the baby’s body, wrapped in a pink towel, when the tent was moved.
A unit on the second floor was cordoned off by the police, and drops of blood were seen at the nearest lift lobby.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call for assistance at around 11am on Wednesday.
“Upon SCDF’s arrival, a baby was found at the foot of the block and pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic. SCDF conveyed another person to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital,” it added.
A resident who lives on the third floor said it was quiet all morning.
Wanting to be known only as James, 26, a software engineer, he said he woke up at around 10am and realised something was happening only at 1pm.
He said: “I heard nothing, and the police tent was just below my window.”
Norsuefi Nordin, 30, who lives on the second floor, said the police knocked on his door around noon and asked if he had heard a scream. He said he did not.
Undertakers were seen taking the body away in a body bag at around 2.40pm.
Chinese-language news media outlet Lianhe Zaobao reported that a 10-year-old boy found a foetus at Pasir Ris Park, under a concrete slab near a barbecue pit, on Dec 24, 2022.
The boy, who was camping with his family, alerted his mother, who called the police.
A foetus is considered a baby after birth. The term “foetus” does not indicate if it is alive or not, whereas the term “stillborn” indicates the baby died before or during delivery.
