Dead bodies have been surfacing in Singapore in recent
weeks. (Yahoo! photo/Jeanette Tan)
By Seah Chiang Nee
In recent days, parts of this law-and-order city, whose murder
rate ranks as low as Japan's, resembled scenes from the American TV
series Crime Scene Investigation.
Against its staid nature, seven gruesome bodies have been found
in various parts of the island in the past seven weeks, unrelated
to each other.
In fact, the grisly spate had begun earlier, from around
mid-April when a decomposed body was found in a luggage bag at the
casino resort of Sentosa.
A month later, an Indonesian maid's body was discovered
submerged in a rooftop tank that supplies drinking water to nearly
200 residents at Woodlands. Her Bangladeshi boyfriend had been
arrested.
Since then a total of 13 bodies have turned up, prompting
shocked citizens to ask: "What has become of Singapore?"
Police investigators and pathologists — as well as sociologists
— are working overtime to probe this epidemic of corpses. Most were
believed to be murder or suicide victims.
Concern over two possible factors
Until a clear picture emerges, people are blaming it on the
rapid intake of foreigners, as well as the presence of two casinos,
or possibly both.
As a result, the second most densely-populated city in the world
(next to Monaco) is now also poised to overtake Las Vegas as the
second largest gaming destination as well.
These two factors have pushed economic growth sky-high but few
ordinary citizens are celebrating.
Families are extremely concerned about the social impact they
may bring — including crime, family stress and suicides.
"In fact, they may already have started to take a toll on
society," said a housewife.
Several of the bodies had been found in surrounding waters or
forested areas, a few having died or been killed some time ago.
Among the grotesque finds was the lower half of a decomposed
male body which was discovered floating in the Bedok
Reservoir, a source of drinking water for many
Singaporeans.
So far, the phenomenon has not really dented Singapore's
reputation as one of the world's safest cities, with an average of
two murders a month.
This works out to 0.5 homicide per 100,000 people, a proportion
close to Japan's and slightly ahead of Hong Kong's.
Relatively high suicide rate
But suicides here are another matter. Despite its prosperity,
the republic ranked 43rd in the world in 2009 with 401 cases; that
was before the casinos opened their doors.
At least half were non-Singaporeans, a few of them China mainlanders. In the latest case, a decomposed body
was found near the National University of Singapore (NUS) on
Wednesday.
Two days earlier, a couple taking a stroll along the
Singapore River were shocked to see the
corpse of a Chinese woman floating below the Helix Bridge.
Many Singaporeans are wondering if the 38,600-strong police
force is adequate to cope with the population expansion — by 65
percent to five million since 1990.
Long overcrowded, the city state has undergone a tremendous
transformation in almost every field.
Financially, people are generally richer, live better; most
youths are better educated. But among the lower income earners,
social problems and tales of poverty abound.
Number of homeless people increasing
As bodies were turning up, the state television reported that
the Government was picking up the highest number of homeless
individuals in the city in four years.
A total of 339 homeless individuals and 15 homeless families
(totalling 50 people) were found last year — compared with 217
individuals and 17 families (comprising 82 people) in 2009.
Nearly one in every six households has more than US$1 million
(RM3mil) in assets, making it the densest population of wealthy
households in the world, according to the Boston Consulting
Group.
But despite the high GDP growth, the lot of the other half is
gloomier.
Widely-travelled business consultant Imran Ahmad likened it to
"Singapore's long trip from Third World to First World and back to
Third" in which serious crimes are getting more common.
The city before 2004 was less crime-prone, Imran noted. He named
some recent social ills: floating corpses in drinking water tanks,
a flabby (family) man dressed in wet underwear at Singapore Zoo, a
woman threatening a train official after refusing to pay her son's
fare — and so on.
Can changes still be made?
"It is impossible to turn the clock back. Nor does one wish to
return to the past. However, Singaporeans must be conscious of
society's direction," he warned.
Meanwhile, a Chinese-language tabloid reported that a man was
arrested for attempting suicide at a flat — half an hour after
another man had fallen to his death in the same block.
The public is showing a mixture of bafflement, anger and worry
about these social ills.
"Floating bodies are found everywhere every other day," said a
man who wished to be known as Swift Disaster.
"Our crime rate used to be among the lowest, with incidents like
these (ones) very rare.
"Foreign workers (are now) robbing and killing each other and
domestic maids, illegal prostitution is on the rise, our void decks
are being terrorised, rubbish bins being scattered.
"Our children no longer feel safe in the streets of our home.
Our aspiration of becoming a First World standard in everything is
taking a toll on our lives.
"I hope it's still not too late for us to make changes where
needed and bring back the beautiful Singaporean lifestyle. It
(might not have been) perfect but it was beautiful."
