As the lift door opened, her father, looking tired and lost, emerged.
The sight of her dad shackled with handcuffs and being taken to the waiting police car was too much for the daughter.
Surrounded by relatives, the slim woman in a T-shirt and pants cried out: “Pa! Pa!”
Two words that carried a volume of pain.
Pain that came from the shattering knowledge that her 68-year-old father had been arrested for allegedly killing her mother.
The man kept his head down and did not say a word as he was led to the car at about 7.30pm yesterday.
His family had been at the void deck for more than an hour, waiting for him to appear. He was being questioned by police in the flat.
The police said they received a call for assistance at 4.35pm.
The 63-year-old woman was found motionless in a pool of blood in the living room of their five-room flat in Compassvale Crescent.
Related story: Woman allegedly murdered in Compassvale flat
She was pronounced dead at 5pm.
The couple have two daughters in their 20s, according to neighbours.
As the husband was retired and the wife was a housewife, neighbours often spotted them together in the neighbourhood.
The New Paper understands that one of their daughters alerted the police after receiving a call from her father.
The two daughters, who were visibly distraught, as well as their relatives and friends who had gathered at the void deck, declined comment.
They were questioned by the police and left the block at about 8pm.
Lianhe Zaobao
The couple’s immediate neighbour, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lin, 50, was shocked to hear about the tragedy.
He was not allowed to enter his flat for nearly an hour while the police cordoned off one section of the corridor.
His wife and daughter were not allowed to leave their flat as well.
He said in Mandarin: “My wife looked out of (our) flat and told me that the husband was being kept in the flat by the police.
“She told me that there were many police officers outside our neighbour’s flat.”
Other neighbours learnt of the grisly incident when they were asked by the police if they had heard anything.
They said they did not hear any commotion before the woman was allegedly killed.
Mr Lin said the couple’s elder daughter got married a few years ago and the couple were living with their younger daughter, who is a teacher.
He added that the husband and wife were very loving and he had never heard any quarrels from the flat.
“The couple would leave the house together in the morning for breakfast and come home together.
“They were very kind. I remember my daughter forgot her keys once when we first moved in and the wife invited my daughter into her flat to rest.”
The police were in the flat till late, collecting bags of evidence.
They have classified the case as murder and are investigating.
linheng@sph.com
This article was first published on March 14, 2016.
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