Man who died in Hougang fire identified; family lived in cluttered flat

The married couple and their teenage daughter lived in a five-room flat on the third floor of Block 971 Hougang Street 91.

At about 12.40pm on Jan 9, a fire broke out at the unit, killing three people.

The occupants of the flat were Mr Lee Choon Geak, 62, his wife Ms Seow Siew Choo, 56, and their teenage daughter.

The Straits Times understands that only Mr Lee’s body has been identified so far, as the bodies of the other victims had suffered significant burns.

According to records, Mr Lee married Ms Seow in 1992 and the family moved into the flat in 2019.

Neighbours said the flat was cluttered, and the family owned several pets, including a cat, bird and rabbits, causing a stench along the corridor.

They said the family would often bring home a mix of items and leave them outside the unit.

A neighbour on the same floor who wanted to be known only as Mrs Priya, 42, a housewife, said the family would often bring home boxes of junk and flower pots, cluttering the inside of the unit and the corridor.

She said: “It was very messy and smelly. I could smell it even when the door was closed.”

She added the mess had at one point occupied half of the corridor of the third floor, blocking the way to the rubbish chute.

Another neighbour on the same floor, who did not want to be identified, said the couple often brought home carton boxes and flower pots, and kept an assortment of pets.

The woman said that because of the fire, she was not allowed back to her unit at 8pm on Jan 9. She spent the night at her daughter’s place before returning home at around 8am on Jan 10.

 

Residents living on the other levels said they were evacuated at around 12.50pm and were gradually allowed to return to their units from 4pm to 6pm.

In their initial Facebook post at about 2.15pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said there were no reported injuries in the fire.

Firefighters had to force their way into the unit, but faced challenges due to the number of items inside.

The fire was extinguished at around 3.15pm.

 

It was only at about 4.30pm that SCDF issued an update saying two victims were found inside a bedroom in the unit and pronounced dead at the scene.

At around 7.45pm, they said firefighters had rescued a cat, bird and eight rabbits.

But at around 9.30pm, they issued yet another update, saying they found a third body in the bedroom.

SCDF firefighters were still at the scene at 2pm on Jan 10.

Officers from the Building and Construction Authority entered several units to conduct checks.

There were 1,954 cases of fires in Singapore in 2023, an 8.6 per cent increase from 1,799 cases in 2022.

The Hougang fire is the second time in over two years that a blaze has killed three people.

On May 13, 2022, three people, including a three-year-old, died in a fire that broke out in the living room of a Bedok North flat.