SINGAPORE: A mother, who was found dead with her one-year-old daughter at the foot of a Housing Board flat in 2023, had been worried about her baby’s development.
Her husband noticed she had been moody and listless at home, often lying in bed with their daughter.
One day, on Nov 5, 2023, he came home from church in the afternoon to find their bodies at the foot of their block.
On July 23, a coroner’s inquiry was conducted into their deaths.
As the woman has a surviving son, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda imposed a gag order on the identities of the mother and daughter, their family members and their address.
Police investigation officer (IO) Clarice Koh, who was the sole witness in the inquiry, told the court that the couple, son and daughter lived in an HDB flat.
At about 10am on the day of the incident, a Sunday, the woman’s husband noticed she was not preparing to leave for church.
She said she would stay home as their daughter was unwell. Her husband then left with their son, as the boy insisted on going to church.
On the way there, the husband texted his wife on his phone, but she did not reply. He did not find this unusual, as she usually would not be on her phone while caring for their daughter.
At about 12.35pm, a resident who was hanging clothes outside her balcony saw something fall, one after another, and heard loud thuds.
She saw the mother and daughter on the ground and called the police.
Mother and daughter were pronounced dead at the scene.
The husband returned home at about 1.30pm and saw a police cordon at the foot of their block.
Realising his wife and daughter were not home, he asked police officers at the ground floor if there were two bodies. The officers showed him photos and he confirmed their identities.
IO Koh said the husband noticed his wife had temper outbursts after giving birth to their son in 2019. The outbursts subsided after two years.
After their daughter was born, his wife was worried as the infant was found to be underdeveloped and underweight at one year old during a check-up.
The woman’s parents also noticed she was more irritable and kept to herself, with her father noting she took fewer photos of the children.
IO Koh said that in both the hospital check-ups after giving birth to the children, the woman did not show signs of mental issues and was deemed not at risk of post-natal depression.
The police do not suspect foul play.
State Coroner Nakhoda will deliver his findings on Aug 22. - The Straits Times/ANN
