Woman found dead was stressed over allegedly fake workplace injury claim, discharged against advice: Coroner

The claim was mounted against the woman by a foreign worker who was seeking compensation for total permanent incapacity.

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Warning: This story contains references to suicide.

SINGAPORE: A woman who was found dead at the foot of a housing block had been stressed over a workplace injury claim against her that she said was fraudulent, a coroner's court heard on Thursday (Oct 8).

She had also been discharged from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) against medical advice a day before, following a suicide attempt.

A coroner's inquiry into the death of the owner of a food business opened on Thursday.

A gag order was imposed protecting the identities of her husband, her children and preventing the publication of her address. CNA is not naming her for this reason.

The 44-year-old woman had gone to a block in the Bukit Timah area on the morning of Jul 19, 2025.

The investigation officer on the case, Inspector Ong Hui Xian, told the court that a resident in the block had taken the lift up with the woman and asked her if she stayed there.

The deceased replied that she was visiting and wished the woman a good day when the latter alighted.

The deceased was later found dead. She was identified when the police found a car key belonging to her husband.

According to her husband, the woman had said she was going out to exercise that morning.

A suicide note was later found in the woman's laptop, expressing how apologetic she was to her loved ones.

The court heard that the woman went to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital's psychiatric department in late June 2025.

She had symptoms of depression, including a loss of appetite and sleep, as well as intrusive thoughts with a depressed mood for a few months prior.

She spoke about feeling guilt and being torn between work and her children.

She was prescribed with mirtazapine, a prescription medicine for major depressive disorder, and zolpidem, which is for insomnia.

In the wee hours of Jul 18, 2025, the woman was found drunk and unconscious at Changi Beach.

Paramedics and the police attended to her and found her intoxicated, incoherent and drenched with water.

She said she wanted to die and was scammed of money but did not say more.

A police officer called the IMH crisis hotline and was advised to apprehend her under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act as she was intoxicated.

She was taken to Changi General Hospital, where doctors assessed that she had made a "serious suicide attempt" and diagnosed her with depression.

She was then transferred to IMH, with major depressive disorder as the clinical diagnosis.

The woman was discharged against medical advice that same day, as she and her husband were "keen on the discharge", said INSP Ong.

They were informed of the risk of worsening symptoms and suicide if she was discharged, and they agreed to her discharge under the care of her husband.

The woman's husband said she appeared quiet but normal after being discharged.

STRESS OVER INJURY CLAIM

The man said his wife appeared to be stressed about a worker who had been sending medical bills to her.

Investigations revealed that the woman had experienced significant stress related to a workplace injury compensation claim mounted against her by a foreign worker.

The worker had purportedly sustained injuries while working at the woman's company and had been sending her medical bills.

The worker had also sent a letter saying she would be making a claim for total permanent incapacity against the woman.

The woman believed she was being exploited for additional compensation.

Her husband told her not to worry, and that the insurer had already been paying for some of the worker's hospital bills.

His wife brought up worries that she had not bought the right insurance plan and was worried the insurer would not cover the total permanent incapacity claim.

An officer with the Ministry of Manpower had received an email from the woman three days before her death, clarifying if she had to pay new medical bills.

The officer told her that the information should be given to the insurer directly as the insurer was assessing the case.

The woman was said to be "calm and composed", according to the MOM officer.

At this point, the woman's husband began breaking down in court. He apologised and said he had just seen some pictures in the court documents that had triggered him.

INSP Ong said the police and MOM had investigated the issues relating to the allegedly fraudulent workplace injury claim, but they did not affect the findings in the death of the woman.

The findings will be given at a later date.

When asked by the media if the investigating authorities had reached any conclusion regarding the allegedly fraudulent workplace injury claim, State Counsel Dhiraj G Chainani declined to comment.

National mental health helpline: 1771

Samaritans of Singapore Hotline: 1767

Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline: 1800 283 7019

You can also find a list of international helplines here . If someone you know is at immediate risk, call 24-hour emergency medical services.

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该诉讼是由一名外国劳工提起的，他要求赔偿该女子完全永久性丧失劳动能力造成的损失。

新加坡国家法院的资料照片。

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

警告：本文包含有关自杀的内容。

新加坡：周四（10 月 8 日），验尸法庭获悉，一名被发现死在组屋楼下的女子生前曾因一起针对她的工伤索赔而承受巨大压力，她称该索赔是欺诈性的。

此前一天，她因自杀未遂而被心理卫生学院 (IMH) 出院，但医生并未建议她出院。

周四，验尸官对一家食品企业老板的死亡展开了调查。

为了保护她丈夫和孩子的身份，并禁止公布她的住址，当局下达了禁言令。因此，CNA没有公布她的姓名。

2025年7月19日上午，这名44岁的女子前往武吉知马地区的一栋组屋。

负责此案的调查官王慧贤警督告诉法庭，该楼的一名居民曾与这名女子一同乘电梯上去，并询问她是否住在这里。

死者回答说她是来拜访的，并在那位女士下车时祝她一天愉快。

死者后来被发现已经死亡。警方在她丈夫的车钥匙上找到了她的身份信息。

据她丈夫说，这名女子曾表示那天早上她要出去锻炼。

后来在女子的笔记本电脑中发现了一封遗书，表达了她对亲人的深深歉意。

法庭获悉，该女子于 2025 年 6 月下旬前往黄廷方综合医院精神科就诊。

在她患病前的几个月里，她出现了抑郁症状，包括食欲不振、失眠，以及伴有抑郁情绪和反复出现的侵入性想法。

她谈到自己感到内疚，并且在工作和孩子之间左右为难。

医生给她开了米氮平（一种治疗重度抑郁症的处方药）和唑吡坦（一种治疗失眠的药物）。

2025年7月18日凌晨，这名女子被发现醉酒昏迷在樟宜海滩。

医护人员和警察赶到现场后发现她醉酒、语无伦次，浑身湿透。

她说她想死，而且被骗了钱，但她没有说更多。

一名警官致电心理卫生学院危机热线，被告知根据《精神健康（护理和治疗）法》逮捕她，因为她处于醉酒状态。

她被送往樟宜综合医院，医生评估认为她曾“严重自杀未遂”，并诊断她患有抑郁症。

随后她被转至精神卫生研究所 (IMH)，临床诊断为重度抑郁症。

翁警督表示，这名女子当天就违背医嘱出院了，因为她和她的丈夫“急于出院”。

他们被告知，如果她出院，病情可能会恶化甚至有自杀的风险，他们同意让她在丈夫的照顾下出院。

该女子的丈夫说，她出院后看起来很平静，但一切正常。

因伤残索赔而产生的压力

该男子说，他的妻子似乎因为一名工人不断给她寄医疗账单而感到压力很大。

调查显示，这名女子曾因一名外国工人对她提出的工伤赔偿诉讼而承受了巨大的压力。

据称，该工人在该女子的公司工作时受伤，并一直在向她寄送医疗账单。

该工人还发了一封信，表示她将向该女子提出完全永久性丧失劳动能力的索赔。

该女子认为自己被利用来索取额外报酬。

她丈夫告诉她不要担心，保险公司已经支付了部分工人的住院费用。

他的妻子提出担忧，认为她没有购买合适的保险计划，担心保险公司不会赔付完全永久性丧失劳动能力的赔偿。

人力部的一名官员在女子去世前三天收到了她的一封电子邮件，邮件中询问她是否需要支付新的医疗费用。

警官告诉她，应该直接将信息提供给保险公司，因为保险公司正在评估此案。

据人力部官员称，该女子“冷静沉着”。

这时，女方的丈夫在法庭上开始崩溃。他道歉说，他刚刚在法庭文件中看到了一些照片，这些照片刺激了他。

王警监表示，警方和人力部已对涉嫌欺诈性工伤索赔的相关问题进行了调查，但这些调查结果并未影响对该女子死亡事件的调查结果。

调查结果将于稍后公布。

当媒体询问调查当局是否已就涉嫌欺诈性工伤索赔得出任何结论时，国家律师迪拉杰·G·查伊纳尼拒绝置评。

全国心理健康热线：1771

新加坡撒玛利亚会热线：1767

新加坡心理健康协会热线：1800 283 7019

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