Japan sinkhole grows to almost Olympic pool length with truck driver still trapped
YASHIO, Japan: Emergency workers in Japan began building a ramp on Friday (Jan 31) to try and reach a 74-year-old truck driver who has not been heard from since his vehicle was swallowed by a sinkhole this week.
The incident has captured national attention since the sinkhole suddenly appeared in Yashio City in Saitama prefecture, just northeast of Tokyo, during the morning rush hour on Tuesday.
The sinkhole was roughly 10m wide and 5m deep but after it merged with another cave-in nearby, it expanded to 40m across, almost the length of an Olympic swimming pool.
The growing hole could be the result of corroded sewage pipes, according to authorities in Yashio.
"It is an extremely dangerous condition," local fire chief Tetsuji Sato told reporters on Thursday at the traffic intersection where dozens of rescuers have been working around the clock.
"We are planning to construct a slope (to access the hole) from a safer spot so that we will be able to send heavy equipment," he said.
He added that groundwater was leaking inside and that the hole was "continuing to cave in".
The truck driver was last heard responding to rescuers on Tuesday afternoon, according to Yashio fire department official Yoshifumi Hashiguchi.
Contact was lost after the truck became further buried under soil and debris, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.
ERODING WALLS
The punctured pipes "potentially allowed the surrounding soil to flow in and the space under the ground to hollow out", Daisuke Tsutsui, a Saitama prefectural official, told AFP on Thursday.
Authorities hoped to complete the 30m on Friday, but a local official said it may take several days.
The operation has been aggravated by the inner walls of the hole - now around 10m deep - continuing to erode, preventing rescue workers from staying inside it for long.
As the sinkhole has expanded, heavy chunks of asphalt have occasionally fallen in, preventing rescue workers from going near the chasm. This has also made it dangerous to place heavy machinery nearby.
Television footage captured the asphalt road cracking and collapsing into the sinkhole, knocking down billboards.
Authorities have tried to save the driver by lifting his truck with cranes, but they could only recover the loading platform, leaving behind the cabin where the driver is believed to be trapped.
Officials have also tried without success to remove sediment and dig out the driver. They flew a drone into the hole to see if rescue workers could climb down, but no progress has been made.
"Using toilets is difficult to refrain from, but we are asking to use less water as much as possible," an official told AFP.
Some sewage water in the area was collected and released to a nearby river to reduce the runoff into the hole.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry has ordered a nationwide inspection of sewer systems.
Most of Japan's main public infrastructure was built during the rapid economic growth of the 1960s and 1970s. The sewage pipe in Yashiro is about 40 years old.
Ong Ye Kung on not joining the opposition, his language struggle and more, on The Assembly
Singapore's health minister fields questions regarding whether he had betrayed his opposition-affiliated parents, his 2011 electoral loss and his biggest mistake in office, on CNA series The Assembly.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung was the final guest on The Assembly. The episode aired on Wednesday. (Photos: John III Rosado for CNA)
01 Feb 2025 06:00AM
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
SINGAPORE: In his time in politics, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has faced tough questions on MRT delays, healthcare costs and Singapore's pandemic strategy.
But it took an 18-year-old, Durkeswaran Krishnan from CNA series The Assembly, to ask him what he does not recall anyone else ever asking: Why did he not follow his father into the opposition?
His late father, Ong Lian Teng, was a Barisan Sosialis Member of Parliament in the 1960s. "My father lived in a different time, (when) there were very divergent positions on where Singapore was heading," said Ong.
"And he (was particularly) passionate about serving the villagers."
That dedication to "serving society" and helping those around him had a subconscious influence on Ong. It set him on the path to the civil service, where he eventually "felt that the way to serve" was by joining the ruling party.
"The parties we chose might be different," he said in the episode that aired on Wednesday. "Nevertheless, I'm following in my father's footsteps in many ways."
His father did not accept his decision immediately. "In some ways, he was torn and therefore asked for more time. And I fully respected that. So (in) 2006, I couldn't join politics (yet)," Ong recounted.
His late mother, too, was "heavily involved in opposition politics". A passionate teacher, Ng Soo Lung had mentored student activists who boycotted the 1961 Government Secondary 4 Examination to protest against changes in the Chinese secondary education system.
"Did you ever feel that you betrayed your parents in some way?" asked Stephanie Fam, who has cerebral palsy.
"Yes," replied Ong to a question that had gone through his mind before. "They were on one side; I'm choosing the other side — am I in some way letting them down?"
After several conversations over the years, his parents finally accepted his decision, and he stood for election in 2011 with their blessing. But he lost in Aljunied GRC to the Workers' Party.
"By then, my father had passed away. But my mother was around, and she saw me lose," he said. "I'm sure, if they'd been around (in 2015) and seen me win, they would've been proud."
The loss stung, worsened by the regret of not having his parents see him elected eventually.
It was also "quite hard" to take because he was entering politics with batchmates such as Education Minister Chan Chun Sing and former Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin. They had studied in Raffles Junior College together.
"How come I'm the only one who didn't get elected?" Ong recalled feeling as he sat down with The Assembly's neurodivergent journalists to unpack his mistakes, insecurities and achievements, in "probably the most honest interview" he has had.
WATCH: Ong Ye Kung's "most honest interview ever" with neurodiverse journalists (24:33)
MAKING THE MISTAKE OF OMISSION
After his electoral setback, Ong stayed on in the National Trades Union Congress before transitioning to the private sector in 2013 as Keppel Corporation's director of group strategy. When he returned to the political arena in 2015, he felt different.
"I don't think I (would be) who I am without the 2011 setback," he reflected. "(It) changed the way I feel (about) what kind of politician I am."
He does not see his 2011 loss as a failure. He has made a few mistakes, however, as a minister.
Asked what the biggest was, he said there were times when he was "in a position to make a change" but held back owing to what had been put in motion already.
"You don't want to crowd the agenda. You push it off, and then you miss the chance," he said without going into detail. "It's a mistake of omission, not a mistake of commission."
Joel Lee, 27, who has autism, asked if Ong — once considered a potential candidate for the premiership — ever aspired to the role.
"Not that you want to be (prime minister), but you're prepared to take it up," replied the minister. "Having … decided to enter politics, I think if you're entrusted (with the role), you have to try to take it up."
But it involves "a lot of sacrifices", which apply to ministers and MPs too, he said. "We have no weekends," he continued. "Your family ends up sacrificing as well, in terms of privacy … (and not) having enough time with you."
He now hopes his "old friend", Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, whom he has known since the early 2000s and who has "a very strong set of qualities", will be well supported.
On health policies, Ong talked about home palliative care.
His ministry is expanding the care capacity at home by 50 per cent to 3,600 places by this year, while also increasing inpatient and day hospice capacity. And personal experience has helped to shape his views on end-of-life care.
His grandmother who raised him while his parents worked ended up having advanced lung cancer. He was "very close to her" and recalled how she would complain in Teochew about staying in hospital: "Kiah jit meh kio kiah jit nee."
That means a night in hospital feels like a year.
Ultimately, she died in hospital. With today's standard of palliative care, however, he thinks she could have been cared for at home. "It would've been her dying wish," he said.
His mother also died in hospital, though in a more comfortable setting.
"One thing the palliative nurse taught me was that the organs will start to fail, but the ears are the last to go," he recounted. "Therefore (I should) talk to her and read to her."
So he read her a Christian sermon each day for some months, he shared. She died peacefully in December 2014.
"I find that the great majority of Singaporeans would like to go in a comfortable environment without too many medical interventions and surrounded by loved ones," he added.
"GRAMMAR IS TORTUOUS"
Perhaps what really surprised Ong's interviewers was how it took him "a long time" to pick up English growing up: He started reading in Primary 2 and only got the hang of writing when "forced to write essays" at university.
Did people make fun of him back in school because he could not speak English, asked Vincent Ng, who has autism.
The reason they did not, according to Ong, was that many of his schoolmates were in the same boat — from a Chinese-speaking background. They were just a quiet bunch who did not say much because English was a struggle.
Sometimes he still feels insecure about his command of English, he said in reply to another question, as grammar "doesn't come naturally" to him.
"If you hear me deliver a speech, and I make grammar mistakes, that was me (who wrote it)," he said with a laugh.
"My brain is wired, from a very young age, for the Chinese language. So (English) grammar came later, and grammar is tortuous.
"Thankfully, there's now autocorrection."
Yet he has no trouble connecting with the masses on social media. Among the 4G ministers — other than the prime minister — Ong has the most followers, numbering more than 150,000 averaged across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
It was not something he realised until Choo Jun Wei, who has autism, pointed it out.
Almost every social media video Ong puts out, however, is a collective effort. "I may come up with the idea, but then the team will give it substance," he said. "Sometimes it's the other way round."
His social media strategy is based on three rules: No "boh liao", or pointless, content; always include a health message; and post not more than once a week. Underpinning all that, the process should be fun, he said.
"People always say (to me), 'You're very hard to approach' (or) 'You always look a bit … unhappy, pissed off even,'" he said, blaming his "resting angry face". "Actually, I'm a jovial, gregarious and funny person."
But his daughters, who are in their 20s, may not find him "cool", he quipped. "I'm just Papa. And Papa sometimes is a bit square. Papa sometimes doesn't understand Gen Z and Gen Alpha. But I'm coping."
Whatever the case, he does not plan on losing his sense of humour — something he believes is the most important quality in life.
Reunion dinner emergency: Docs in family of 12 help save chef in TungLok restaurant
The family helped perform CPR on the chef after his pulse stopped in a TungLok Signatures restaurant on Jan 28.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
SINGAPORE - A relaxing reunion dinner at Orchard Rendezvous Hotel for a family of 12 turned dramatic as three of them raced against time to save a chef who was having a severe asthma attack.
The family had finished their sixth course a little after 10pm on Jan 28 when medical student Alex (not his real name) visited the restroom of the TungLok Signatures restaurant and saw a chef, who looked to be in his 60s, crouched in a corner.
"He was gasping, short of breath, holding his throat and turning pale," the 23-year-old told The Straits Times.
The NUS medical student helped to sit the chef up and administer his inhaler, but his condition was not improving.
Two of the chef's colleagues had already called for an ambulance by then. "His situation was getting serious," Alex said.
At that point, his father, an orthopaedic surgeon, happened to enter the restroom. Alex said: "There was no other medical equipment, nothing much to do except to stay and monitor him."
While his father looked after the chef, Alex called his uncle, oncologist Siow Tian Rui, over. Alex said the chef's pulse was getting weaker, and it abruptly stopped at one point.
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"When a patient loses his or her pulse, it's indicative for the first-aider to begin CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)," he said.
For 15 minutes, his dad and uncle performed CPR on the chef before paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived.
Alex said he was unsure if the chef was conscious when taken to the hospital, but his heart was beating. "It's a dangerous situation to be in. Even after someone is resuscitated, he is not out of the woods yet," he added.
SCDF said it received a call for assistance at 9.55pm on Jan 28, and added that one person was taken to Singapore General Hospital.
It later said it will be reaching out to the members of the public who helped the chef, to commend them for their public-spirited act.
A spokeswoman for TungLok Group confirmed that one of the chefs had experienced a medical emergency and was promptly attended to.
"He is currently receiving treatment in hospital and is in stable condition. We appreciate the swift actions of those who assisted him and the medical team for their care," she told ST on Jan 30.
Dr Siow's brother, Mr Siow Jia Rui, who was also at the reunion dinner, said: "If there wasn't anyone around to intervene early, he (the chef) likely would have died.
"Everything turned out in the right place, at the right time. It was a good outcome."
In May 2024, an accident and emergency doctor was saved by his tennis playing partners, who are also doctors, after collapsing from cardiac arrest during a game.
A number of organisations like the Singapore Red Cross conduct courses for members of the public to develop emergency response skills.
They include the Singapore Heart Foundation, where people can learn skills such as CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) through the Restart A Heart Programme.
An AED is a portable medical device that delivers an electrical shock through the chest to the heart. If a bystander performs early CPR and uses an AED, it can increase a victim's survival rate by up to 50 per cent.
A report in 2023 showed that members of the public who had signed up on SCDF's myResponder app attended to 7,670 incidents over the last five years, more than half of which were cardiac arrest cases.
American Airlines jet collides with helicopter near Washington's Reagan Airport
WASHINGTON: An American Airlines regional passenger jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a midair collision near Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday (Jan 29) night, officials said.
According to American Airlines, there were 60 passengers and four crew members on the flight.
Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter, a US official said.The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the status of the soldiers was unknown, but added that no senior officials were on the helicopter.
Another official said the Army UH-60 helicopter involved in the crash was based out of Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The BlackHawk was taking part in a training flight, said Heather Chairez, a spokesperson with the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.
The Washington Post said multiple bodies had been pulled from the water. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said on social media that "we know there are fatalities," though he did not say how many.
There has not been a fatal US passenger airplane accident since February 2009, but a series of near-miss incidents in recent years have raised serious safety concerns.
NBC reported that four people had been pulled alive from the Potomac River.
A web camera shot from the Kennedy Center in Washington showed an explosion mid-air across the Potomac around 8.47pm with an aircraft in flames crashing down rapidly.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said a PSA Airlines regional jet collided midair with the helicopter while on approach to Reagan.
PSA was operating Flight 5342 for American Airlines, which had departed from Wichita, Kansas, according to the FAA.
Police said multiple agencies were involved in a search and rescue operation in the Potomac River, which borders the airport.
Dozens of police, ambulance and recuse units, some ferrying boats, staged along the river and raced to positions along the tarmac of Reagan airport. Live TV images showed several boats in the water, flashing blue and red lights.
The airport said late on Wednesday that all takeoffs and landings had been halted as emergency personnel responded to an aircraft incident.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering more information on the incident.
American Airlines said on social media that it was "aware of reports that American Eagle flight 5342, operated by PSA, with service from Wichita, Kansas (ICT) to Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) has been involved in an incident".
American Airlines said it would provide more information as it became available to the company.
Over the last two years, a series of near-miss incidents have raised concerns about US aviation safety and the strain on understaffed air-traffic-control operations.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stepped down on Jan 20 and the Trump administration has not named a replacement - or even disclosed who is running the agency on an interim basis.
The last deadly major crash involving a commercial airliner in the US was in 2009, when 49 people aboard a Colgan Air flight crashed in New York state. One person also died on the ground.
Users urged to install latest updates to fix security weakness in Apple Watch, iPhones and iPads
The security update addresses a weakness that could allow hackers to gain access to sensitive information.PHOTO: REUTERS
SINGAPORE - Users of Apple products, including its TV boxes, need to update their devices to prevent hackers from gaining access to them.
In an advisory on Jan 28, the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore said the latest updates by the California-based tech giant are aimed at getting users to address a weakness that could allow a "malicious application to elevate privileges".
This means that unless the loopholes are fixed, hackers can access sensitive information stored on the devices, as well as install malware without the user knowing.
These are the products at risk:
iPhone XS and later
iPad Pro 13-inch
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later)
iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)
iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
iPad (7th generation and later)
iPad mini (5th generation and later)
Macs running macOS Sequoia
Apple TV HD
Apple TV 4K
Apple Vision Pro
Apple Watch Series 6 and later
According to tech media outlet Bleeping Computer, the update addresses the first "zero-day" vulnerability in Apple products for 2025.
A zero-day vulnerability is a security weakness that is unknown to the software provider and can be exploited by attackers. In this case, the weakness is believed to have already been made use of by hackers.
In 2024, Apple patched six zero-day vulnerabilities, and 20 the year before, including one that allowed hackers to install the Pegasus spyware on devices without the user's knowledge.
Get the highlights right after the speech on Feb 18. You will also get the Evening Update newsletter.
Through the use of the spyware, the hackers were able to open up unfettered access to devices, as well as record conversations made on, or near the devices, among other things.
Aqil Hamzah is a journalist covering breaking news at The Straits Times, with interests in crime and technology.
S'pore retiree, 65, scammed of S$100,000 after retiring for 3 days
She talked to the scammers for more than 4 hours.
Instead of enjoying her retirement, a 65-year-old woman in Singapore who had been retired for just three days got scammed of S$100,000 of her life savings.
The scammers, posing as staff from Shopee, UnionPay and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allegedly told her that her bank account had been suspected for money laundering.
One allegedly instructed her to open a new bank account, and transfer her money there to "safeguard" it.
Scammers posed as Shopee, MAS, bank staff
The woman, who is single and lives with her sister, told Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) that she retired on Jan. 6.
Three days later, on Jan. 9, she received a call at around 6pm from a person claiming to be a Shopee customer service staff.
The scammer told her that she had not paid for her insurance premium on the platform.
The woman replied that she did not even have a Shopee account, and could not have bought insurance, so she requested the person to cancel it.
Sometime during the conversation, the scammer transferred the call to a person named "Jason".
The woman said that Jason had a UnionPay logo on his WhatsApp profile picture, so she thought he was a bank employee.
Jason told her that her bank account was suspected of involvement in money laundering, and said the case would be transferred to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
This was followed up by a WhatsApp call from a third person, whose profile picture bore the MAS logo, the woman said.
The "MAS staff" told her that Jason would contact her again to resolve the problem.
"Jason asked me to transfer funds into a GXS bank account in order to safeguard my money. I followed his instructions, downloaded the GXS app and opened an account, before connecting it to my UOB account," said the woman.
Spoke to scammers for more than 4 hours
The woman said she was unclear of what happened next. She spoke to the scammers for more than four hours, even skipping dinner to do so.
Noticing this, the woman's sister asked her several times to hang up, but she did not.
The woman's sister even called her niece, surnamed Wu (transliteration), to come over and help.
When Wu arrived at 10pm, the woman was still on the phone and tried to log in to another bank account on the instructions of the scammers.
"We kept telling her it was a scam and to hang up, but she refused to listen, so I hung up for her," said Wu.
Lost S$100,000
When the dust had settled, two transfers were made from the woman's UOB account, S$75,000 and S$25,000 respectively.
A third transaction failed as her account had insufficient funds.
Wu added that her aunt had forgotten the password to her other bank account, so she couldn't log in and the money remained intact.
Wu subsequently helped her aunt to check the GXS account and also found it empty.
After finding out she had been defrauded, the woman called the police, cancelled her online banking account and changed a new phone.
I was afraid of the scammers: Woman
"I just retired on Jan. 6, and got scammed on Jan. 9," the woman told Shin Min.
She said the S$100,000 sum had been stored in a fixed deposit which matured last December, and that she was making plans to reinvest the money when the scammers took it.
The woman said that she does not usually answer calls from unknown callers, but somehow did so that day, and added that she obeyed the scammers out of fear.
"The scammers kept calling me, and I didn't have time to verify their identity. One even video-called me and sounded very serious, so I was afraid. I just wanted to safeguard my money, so I did everything they said."
The police confirmed with Mothership that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
Mercury dips to 22 deg C as monsoon surge hits Singapore
SINGAPORE - The temperature on Jan 10 dropped to 22 deg C after hours of relentless rain bore down on the island since morning.
According to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), the lowest temperature of the day up to 9.16pm was 22 deg C recorded in Admiralty.
This is slightly above 2024's lowest temperature of 21.4 deg C, which was recorded in Paya Lebar on July 12.
National water agency PUB warned on Jan 9 that extreme downpours might overwhelm Singapore's canals and drains temporarily between Jan 10 and 13, when a monsoon surge was expected to hit the city. This may trigger sudden and localised floods.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Jan 9 that the monsoon surge – a sudden increase in wind speeds that causes cold air to rush southwards in the South China Sea – could cause temperatures to dip to 22 deg C in some places.
According to NEA, the lowest recorded temperature in Singapore was 19.4 deg C in 1934 and 1989.
The wet weather on Jan 10 led to PUB issuing flood risk alerts in areas such as Tanjong Katong and Jalan Pokok Serunai.
At Jalan Seaview near East Coast beach, waters swelled up to around 50cm high, submerging a 60m-long stretch of the street.
A resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong said: "As far as I'm concerned, this is probably the worst (flooding) in the last few years."
Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that PUB issued flash flood alerts instead of flood risk alerts. This has been corrected.
Additional reporting by Kevin Lim
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The occupants of the flat were Mr Lee Choon Geak, 62; his wife, Madam Seow Siew Choo, 56; and their teenage daughter.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded and arrived at the scene in eight minutes from the time they were alerted.
Firefighters had to force their way into the unit, but faced challenges because of the excessive amount of items and heavily smoke-logged condition inside.
The Straits Times reported on Jan 10 that Mr Lee's body had been identified, and the authorities were working to identify the bodies of the other two victims that had suffered significant burns.
On Jan 11, the police said one of the other bodies has been identified as that of an 18-year-old woman.
The spokesman added that they were still trying to establish the identity of the third victim, and that they currently do not suspect foul play.
According to records, Mr Lee married Madam Seow in 1992 and the family moved into the flat in 2019.
Neighbours said the flat was cluttered, and the family owned several pets, including a cat, a bird and rabbits, causing a stench along the corridor.
They said the family would often bring home a mix of items and leave them outside the unit.
A neighbour on the same floor who wanted to be known only as Mrs Priya, 42, a housewife, said the family would often bring home boxes of junk and flowerpots, cluttering the inside of the unit and the corridor.
She said: "It was very messy and smelly. I could smell it even when the door was closed."
She added that the mess had at one point occupied half of the corridor on the third floor, blocking the way to the rubbish chute.
Town council staff clearing items from the gutted unit on Jan 10.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Another neighbour on the same floor, who did not want to be identified, said the couple often brought home carton boxes and flowerpots, and kept an assortment of pets.
The woman said that because of the fire, she was not allowed back to her unit at 8pm on Jan 9. She spent the night at her daughter's place before returning home at around 8am on Jan 10.
Residents living on the other levels said they were evacuated at around 12.50pm and were gradually allowed to return to their units from 4pm to 6pm.
However, as at 5pm on Jan 10, those living next to the affected unit had yet to return home.
A couple in their 60s attempted to return to their unit at around 4pm, but found the area still cordoned off.
They said the residents' committee had arranged a nearby room for them to spend the night at, but they had barely slept and were still wearing the same clothes from the day before.
Workers from the town council began clearing items from the gutted unit from 3pm on Jan 10.
By 5pm, at least seven large garbage disposal bins' worth of items had been removed from the flat, with the clean-up expected to continue through the weekend.
Town council staff clearing items from gutted unit on Jan 10.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
In an initial Facebook post by the SCDF at about 2.15pm on Jan 9, it said there were no reported injuries in the fire.
The fire was extinguished at around 3.15pm and firefighters continued with damping down operations for the next four hours.
SCDF said thermal-imaging cameras were used to check for heat sources among the debris.
It was only at around 4.30pm that SCDF issued an update saying two victims had been found inside a bedroom in the unit and pronounced dead at the scene.
At around 7.45pm, it said firefighters had rescued a cat, a bird and eight rabbits. But, at about 9.30pm, it issued yet another update, saying it had found a third body in the bedroom.
SCDF firefighters were still at the scene at 4pm on Jan 10, and had teams watching the unit overnight.
It said that owing to the excessive amount of items in the unit, there was a possibility that a fire could rekindle from deep-seated embers, which may not be readily visible even after an initial fire is extinguished.
Engineers from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) were also present at the block and entered several units to conduct checks.
The fire was extinguished at around 3.15pm on Jan 9.ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
A BCA spokesman said a preliminary assessment by its engineers found that the fire did not affect the structural integrity of the unit or the units directly above and below it. But the fire had damaged the plaster in two of the unit's bedrooms.
The spokesman said it will work with the Housing Board on the appointment of a professional engineer who will carry out a detailed structural assessment and recommend permanent works.
Elderly couple who lived on their own in Jurong flat found dead together
Relatives and friends attending the wake of an elderly couple who died at home together, at a funeral parlour in Sin Ming Drive, on Jan 6.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE – Around two weeks before Christmas, Jurong resident Lim Chwee Guan noticed a strange smell wafting along the corridor of his 18th floor Housing Board unit.
After three days, the 78-year-old retiree alerted the police when he suspected something tragic had happened.
A number of residents who live in Block 338B Kang Ching Road, near Lakeside MRT, are senior citizens.
His fears came true on Dec 15, 2024, when police discovered the decomposing bodies of an elderly couple who lived on the 18th floor. They had died of natural causes.
While there have been reports of seniors dying alone in their flat, trauma cleaner Rahman Razali, of DDQ Services, said the Kang Ching Road incident was unusual.
His company is one of three firms in Singapore that are engaged by town councils to clean up a flat after such cases.
Said Mr Rahman: "My company attends between two and three cases every week involving seniors dying alone at home.
"But it is very rare to hear of two people dying together like this. I have only encountered one or two such cases after 10 years in this line of work."
There was a similar incident in 2022, when a 70-year-old man and his 92-year-old mother were found dead in their Tampines Street 22 flat.
Residents of Block 338B Kang Ching Road knew the couple as Mr Lim Eng Keong, 71, and Madam Mary Ong, 67.
Mr Lim Chwee Guan, who lived directly opposite the couple, told The Straits Times in Mandarin: "I had not seen them for three days, so I thought they could have been hospitalised.
Lim Chwee Guan, 78, who called the police when he realised something was amiss at his neighbour's flat at Block 338B Kang Ching Road.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
"But when the smell grew stronger, I knew something was wrong."
He said Mr Lim Eng Keong had several chronic ailments, and Madam Ong relied on a wheelchair to move around. She was dependent on her husband for most of her needs.
Mr Billy Ng, who lives alone on the 19th floor, said he last saw Mr Lim Eng Keong about three weeks before Christmas.
"He used to visit me at least once a week. I asked the neighbours but nobody seemed to know what happened," the 84-year-old retiree said.
A joss stick placed by a neighbour outside the unit at Block 338B Kang Ching Road where a couple were pronounced dead.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
The Straits Times approached Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, which operates an active ageing centre at a nearby block in Taman Jurong, about programmes for senior citizens in the estate.
It declined comment.
Mr Lim Chwee Guan and Mr Ng said Mr Lim Eng Keong had diabetes. They recalled that before the tragedy, one of his legs was swollen and looked darker.
Neighbours said the couple rarely had visitors, but some people did turn up at a wake held in Sin Ming Drive on Jan 6 to pay their respects.
The unit (right) at Block 338B Kang Ching Road where a couple were pronounced dead in their Housing Board.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Mr Shawn Huang, MP for Jurong Spring ward in Jurong GRC, said Mr Lim Eng Keong and Madam Ong were jovial, loving, and well-integrated in the community.
He added that they took part in activities organised by the Active Ageing Centre in the estate. The recreational centre extends support to seniors living in the community.
"I have met them during house visits. In fact, I met both of them just a few weeks before they passed. It is always difficult news," he added.
Dying alone
The Ministry of Health does not track the number of elderly who die alone at home, but the Health Sciences Authority reportedly handles fewer than 100 unclaimed bodies each year.
Trauma cleaning company One Heart Cleaning said it has been receiving more calls for its services.
The company's project manager, Ms Felicia Mak, said the firm can get up to three calls a week to perform deep cleaning when seniors die alone at home.
The calls can come from relatives, town councils and the police.
"We receive inquiries but sometimes they decide not to engage our services. This can be because of pricing or our availability, as these cases are usually very abrupt," said Ms Mak.
Cheng Hong Welfare Service Society (CHWSS) chairman Kenny Sim said his organisation attended to 270 cases of lonely deaths across 2024, compared with 190 cases in 2023.
The organisation had established a free afterlife memorial service in 2012 to help seniors prepare their last rites.
Mr Sim said 108 out of the 270 seniors who died alone had signed up as members in 2024.
The charity accepts members who meet certain requirements such as being 65 and above, or those who have financial difficulties and are living in rental HDB flats.
"We get these members through our outreach efforts, which could involve knocking door to door to speak to these seniors.
"We want to let them know that we are here to help and that they are not alone," said Mr Sim.
They also receive referrals from medical social workers in hospitals, old folks' homes and hospices, he added.
CHWSS's 500 volunteers currently look after 2,500 seniors islandwide. The organisation is aiming to reach 3,000 seniors by the end of 2025.
Social service agency Lions Befrienders said it leverages technology to ensure it can reach more lonely seniors.
Ms Karen Wee, executive director of the organisation, said: "We have been using technology, such as motion sensors, inside the homes that will alert us of movement. We also have apps that seniors can use to give us regular check-ins so we know they are there."
This is all done to give the seniors a dignified send-off, she said.
"We need to assure them that they will not die a lonely and undignified death. Of course, there will be cases where the death occurs very suddenly but even then, we aim to find their bodies within 24 hours," Ms Wee added.
The organisation's 150-member team served 13,000 seniors in 2024. It is aiming to assist 27,000 seniors by 2030.
Mr Andy Ang, head of Touch Active Ageing, said that while organisations can try to engage seniors, some people prefer to be left alone.
"It is challenging when seniors refuse help, even when there are major issues that need to be promptly addressed," he said.
"Isolated frail seniors suffering from dementia or cognitive impairment, health or mental health issues are the hardest to reach out to."
He said the organisation's staff and volunteers would still visit the seniors regularly, to persuade them to accept their help.
Living alone
Government figures showed that there were 79,000 residents aged 65 and above in Singapore living alone in 2022, a number likely to grow with one in four citizens reaching 65 or older by 2030.
Older housing estates such as Bukit Merah, Ang Mo Kio, Hougang and Toa Payoh have relatively larger elderly populations.
Mr Huang, who is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Finance, said the issue of seniors living alone is one that is close to his heart.
"In Jurong, we believe in creating as many opportunities for interaction among seniors," he said, adding that these include strengthening and expanding their social circle, promoting communal activities among neighbours and new friends in the community.
He also advocates a culture of self-initiated activities, which could be as simple as going for a coffee or exercising together.
"We have to curate programmes that will create an environment for seniors to thrive and lead fulfilling lives. And make meaningful relationships new or old.
"The best start is to have strong and expanding networks and relationships." he added.
Healthier SG, launched in July 2023, is focused on major preventive care – where individuals are encouraged to work with a general practitioner to take charge of their health.
The programme will complement Age Well SG, a $3.5 billion national drive by the Ministry of Health, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Transport to support seniors in ageing well in their homes and their communities.
Mr Lim Chwee Guan said his neighbours in Kang Ching Road, where he has lived for nearly two decades, have always looked out for one another.
He added that it was tragic that Mr Lim Eng Keong, who often stopped to check on residents, died that way.
"He was a very nice man. He would always go out during the day to buy snacks like curry puffs and give them to me," said Mr Lim Chwee Guan.
When ST visited the couple's unit on Jan 7, there were joss sticks placed on both sides of the gate.
Mr Lim Chwee Guan said it was his way of saying farewell to the couple, who were Buddhists.
"When I found out they had died inside, I went to buy some vegetarian food to offer to them and also pray for them as I considered him my friend."
He added: "At the end of the day I'm also in the same position as them. I am here alone and I do not know when I will die."
