Statistics on Lonely Deaths and Collaboration Efforts Needed with Social Service Agencies

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Home Affairs in the past five years (a) how many people have died alone in their homes and are not discovered for (i) up to a week and (ii) more than a week respectively; and (b) whether such data on people dying alone is being shared with agencies and social services to better understand the circumstances that lead to people dying alone and undiscovered in their homes so that more can be done to prevent lonely deaths.

Mr K Shanmugam: The Police do not track the number of people who have died alone and are not discovered for a period of time. As part of their community policing work, the Police proactively refer socially-isolated seniors they encounter to relevant agencies and community groups for assistance.