Bodies found in rivers: Dead men identified by family members

SINGAPORE - The bodies of two Singaporean men found separately in two rivers here were identified on Friday morning by their family members.

Mr Lee Eng Hock, 59, whose body was found in the Singapore River at about 4pm on Thursday, was jobless and had suffered from depression, his younger brother Lee Eng Hwa, 57, told The Straits Times at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) mortuary.

The younger Mr Lee, who works as a bus driver, said that he had been supporting the dead man, who was single and lived alone in a rental flat in Chin Swee Road.

"My brother was constantly worried about his health," he said in Mandarin.

"He was warded in hospital for his spinal problems last month and was discharged just a few days ago. When my family and I visited him, he told us how he wanted to end his life. We were all so worried about him."

He added that his older brother's death came as a shock to him.

"Last year, in October, he tried to end his life at Sheares Bridge but he was rescued. My brother can't swim," said Mr Lee.

An eyewitness told The Straits Times on Thursday that the dead man's limbs appeared bent when he was pulled out of the river near Upper Circular Road.

A 16-year-old student, who would only give her name as M. H. Lee, was at the scene with two classmates. She said: "We first saw his head. His arms were frozen in a bent shape, and his face was pink."

These are apparently signs of rigour mortis, a process that causes the muscles of a dead person to stiffen and become hard to move.

A relative of Mr Lee was brought to the scene to identify the body on Thursday evening and the same man also turned up on Friday at the mortuary.

The relatives and siblings of the man whose body was found floating in Kallang River were also at the mortuary on Friday to identify his body.

The dead man has been identified and is known only as Mr Singh to the media.

His two siblings declined to speak to reporters when approached at the mortuary. Mr Singh, 29, was the middle child, said a man who identified himself as his uncle.

He also told The Straits Times that his nephew lived alone and had a sales job in Arab Street.

"His father is currently in India and his mother died about three years ago," said the uncle.

Police have classified both cases as unnatural death and are investigating.

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.