SINGAPORE — A simple exchange between neighbours on Tuesday morning has become a heartbreaking final memory after a 68-year-old man died in a fire at his Lorong Lew Lian flat just hours later.
On the morning of Sept. 1, the elderly man stopped to speak to his neighbour’s son.
His message was simple.
“Don’t worry, you be a good boy, and you will achieve good things in your life.”
Those words, recalled by 46-year-old Siti Aisyah Abdul Rahman, would become the last words she remembers hearing from the neighbour she had known for about eight years.
Later that afternoon, tragedy struck.
A fire broke out at his third-floor flat at Block 8 Lorong Lew Lian in Upper Serangoon.
A morning greeting became a final goodbye
Aisyah told AsiaOne that she had crossed paths with the elderly man almost every day for the past eight years.
They would acknowledge each other whenever they met.
That made their final interaction particularly painful.
“What makes me more sad is that today, this morning before I left for work, he actually acknowledged me,” she told AsiaOne.
She described him as someone she regarded almost like a father figure, despite the pair occasionally having disagreements.
One memory that stayed with her happened during Hari Raya.
The man unexpectedly went to her doorstep to make peace.
He told her they had quarrelled before, but that it was Hari Raya and they should forgive and forget.
For Aisyah, the moment showed another side of the elderly neighbour.
Then smoke filled the corridor
A few hours after their morning encounter, Aisyah’s mother, 72-year-old Zaitun Idris, noticed smoke outside their flat.
At first, she thought someone was burning incense.
But when she stepped into the corridor, she saw thick smoke coming from the neighbouring unit.
She began shouting for help.
Zaitun recalled hearing the elderly man banging and struggling inside the flat as the fire intensified.
She also heard popping and crackling sounds coming from inside.
Because of the heavy smoke and her asthma, she was unable to approach the unit and instead called for assistance.
Her daughter, who was at work at the time, told her to evacuate.
Neighbours subsequently helped Zaitun downstairs.
Firefighters found him unconscious
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the fire at around 2.45pm.
Black smoke was coming from a unit on the third floor when firefighters arrived, according to CNA and The Straits Times.
The fire involved the contents of the flat’s living room and was eventually extinguished using a water jet.
During firefighting operations, SCDF personnel found an unconscious man inside the living room.
Firefighters brought him out and immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
He was taken to hospital but subsequently died.
Three others were also taken to hospital
The tragedy affected more than the occupants of the burning flat.
Three women, aged between 51 and 94 or 95, depending on the reporting update, were also taken to hospital after being assessed for conditions including smoke inhalation and breathlessness.
About 30 people were evacuated from the block by police and SCDF officers as a precaution.
The authorities have not indicated that the fire was deliberately started.
Police said preliminary investigations did not suggest foul play, while the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Residents remember a kind neighbour
The man’s death has also prompted tributes from residents and the area’s MP.
Seah Kian Peng, Speaker of Parliament and MP for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC, said he had known the deceased for many years.
He described him as a friendly resident who had lived in the area for many years and said that he would be missed.
For Aisyah, however, it is the ordinary moments that now carry the greatest weight.
The greetings.
The disagreements that eventually became apologies.
The Hari Raya reconciliation.
And, most painfully, a few encouraging words spoken to a child on what appeared to be an ordinary Tuesday morning.
“You be a good boy, and you will achieve good things in your life.”
Hours later, those words became his final message remembered by the neighbour who had known him for eight years.
What we know so far
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Location | Block 8 Lorong Lew Lian, Upper Serangoon |
| Date | Sept. 1, 2026 |
| Fire reported | About 2.45pm |
| Fatality | 68-year-old man |
| Where he was found | Living room of third-floor unit |
| Condition | Found unconscious; CPR performed |
| Other hospitalised | Three women |
| Evacuated | About 30 residents |
| Foul play | Not suspected based on preliminary police investigations |
| Cause of fire | Under investigation |
The core incident details are corroborated by SCDF information reported by CNA, The Straits Times and AsiaOne.
Important editorial caution
Lianhe Zaobao reported additional details about the flat being heavily cluttered and a possible candle being involved, but the official cause of the fire remains under investigation. I would therefore not put “candle caused the fire” in the headline or state it as established fact
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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