Body of missing hiker found at carpark

A body believed to be that of Mr Steward Lee Goon Hong, who went missing after he left his Bukit Panjang home for his daily hike last Friday, has been found.

A police spokesman told The New Paper last night: "On Feb 20, 2017, police were alerted to a body of a man found at the top level of the multistorey carpark of Block 468A, Segar Road. The man was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene."

The police have classified the case as unnatural death and are investigating.

TNP understands that Mr Lee's body was found hanging at the carpark, a 10-minute walk from his home.

Mr Lee had left his mobile phone and wallet at home, something he had done before.

He would normally return home before dinner, or tell his family if he was coming back late.

His sister, Miss Lee Yunqin, had posted an appeal for help on her Facebook page on Saturday.In an earlier interview yesterday, Miss Lee, 29, told The New Paper that family and friends had since stopped searching for him.

She said: "We're very worried. We don't know where to look because we've searched all the places he could be at. We're just waiting for the police now.

"We've been living in the Bukit Panjang area for the past 20-over years, so he's very familiar with the trails here."

She said her brother used to work at the River Safari and was interested in nature and conservation. He mostly hiked alone.

Miss Lee did not respond to TNP's calls following the police statement.

Avid hikers in Singapore, who had seen Miss Lee's appeal, had earlier weighed in on the missing hiker.

Mr Kwok Yew Peng, 53, who has scaled peaks in Malaysia, said: "I don't think it's easy to get lost in Singapore unless he wandered very far into the nature reserves.

"And if he's been hiking so regularly, the terrain should be familiar to him. If he's in Bukit Panjang, he can probably hear traffic and walk towards it."

Mr Ken Neo and two friends had hiked six hours from Chestnut Avenue to Eco-Link @ BKE then to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve earlier yesterday, searching for Mr Lee.

Mr Neo told TNP: "We don't know him or the family. We only want to help."