Authorities arrived at an open verdict after extensive testing on waterlogged personal items recovered from the forested slope, such as clothing, glasses, and electronics, failed to produce any viable DNA profiles. Although an autopsy suggested the bones likely belonged to an elderly male, missing skeletal components like the ribs and leg bones prevented experts from identifying his ancestry or race. Investigators also determined that the individual had not been living in the surrounding jungle, and local animals are believed to have scattered and consumed portions of the remains.
Key points
The coroner returned an open verdict because extensive decomposition and missing bones ma…: The coroner returned an open verdict because extensive decomposition and missing bones made it impossible to establish a definitive cause of death.
Police do not suspect foul play, and no signs of human habitation were discovered in the…: Police do not suspect foul play, and no signs of human habitation were discovered in the immediate vicinity of the remains.
Significant gaps in the skeleton, likely caused by wildlife consuming smaller bones, comp…: Significant gaps in the skeleton, likely caused by wildlife consuming smaller bones, completely prevented pathologists from identifying the individual's race or ancestry.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
The birdwatcher initially thought the skull he found in a forested area behind the Hindu cemetery belonged to an animal.
SINGAPORE: A human skull and other bones found by a birdwatcher in a forested area near a cemetery are still unidentified, with a coroner on Tuesday (Nov 3) returning an open verdict on how the person died.
The precise date and location of the death could not be determined, and there was a substantial number of missing bones, with the cause of death unascertained, said Coroner Chay Yuen Fatt.
However, the available skeletal features indicated that the deceased was a man in his late 70s or 80s, the court heard.
THE CASE
The remains were discovered on Mar 8 this year in a forested area behind the Hindu cemetery in Choa Chu Kang, which is managed by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
A member of the public who said he cycled regularly to the cemetery to birdwatch saw the skull and initially thought it belonged to an animal.
However, on closer inspection, he believed it was human.
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