HE had met his friends at the Haig Road food centre for a drink
on Saturday night.
When he dozed off soon after midnight, they hailed a taxi and
helped him get in.
But Mr Abdullah Abu Bakar, 53, an odd job worker, never made it
home.
Hours later, his body was found about 300m away in a drain next to
the Geylang Serai temporary wet market along Sims Avenue.
His friends and the stallholders at the food centre are puzzled.
How did he end up there?
And how long had he been lying in the 1m-deep drain along the main
road without anyone noticing?
A stall owner at the Geylang Serai market said he had arrived there
at 2am to open his stall.
But it was still dark then and nothing seemed amiss, he told Shin
Min Daily News.
It was only around 6.50am that he noticed the motionless body and
alerted the police.
He said: 'It was dawn when I noticed a man face-down in the drain.
His legs were in a kneeling position.
'When I went up to take a look, I discovered that his face was
swollen
and bloated.'
He was pronounced dead at 7.10am.
A stall owner, Mr Mohamad Samsudin, 56, told The New Paper that Mr
Abdullah was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, dark blue
trousers and black shoes.
He said: 'It looked like he had fallen into the drain. His arms
were behind his back and his body was stiff when I saw it at about
7am.
'But I didn't see any blood.'
He also said some stall owners from the Haig Road food centre had
walked by in the morning and recognised Mr Abdullah as a regular
customer.
His friends at the food centre were shocked when they heard about
his death. They said he used to go there almost every night.
Sometimes, he would be there in the day, too, and would stay till
late.
Another friend said they had met for a drink and to hang out there
as they usually did on Saturdays.
But Mr Abdullah started dozing off after midnight and so they
bundled him into a taxi to send him home. That was the last they
saw of him.
Mr Abdullah's last known address was a two-room flat in Bedok
South, but neighbours there said he had moved out last year.
His former neighbour, Mr Liew Lin Hoo, 75, a retiree, said: 'He was
not married and lived with his brother and mother. He rented the
flat out after they moved away.'
He said Mr Abdullah was not talkative, but he would greet his
neighbours. He also said that Mr Abdullah had borrowed money from
him now and then.
'He used to ask me for $10 or $20 to buy food because he said the
rent was not enough. But he would pay me back eventually.'
The police have classified the case as one of unnatural death and
are investigating.
wat u think? he fell in e drain or kena murder? 
