How was that possible? Where were their loved ones?

Our environment was then steeped in the concept of filial piety, and Singaporeans largely dismissed the possibility that parents or senior citizens dying in such a neglected, undignified manner would one day happen here.

Then as time passed, it became so commonplace in the United States and Europe that it no longer made news. And it wasn’t just about Asian values because it was also happening in Japan, too, albeit in fewer numbers.

Today, Singaporeans no longer look at it as a distant phenomenon. In recent years, we, too, had a few instances of elderly citizens lying dead in their flats for days before anyone found out.

One extreme case last month shocked Singaporeans more than the others. The skeleton of an elderly woman who had lived alone for two years was found on the toilet floor of her home. She had died probably a year earlier, according to the date when her water and electricity were last used.

Most people had thought she had moved out and none of her neighbours was curious enough to knock on her door to find out even when piles of letters, bills and bank statements – all a year’s work – were found outside her door.

“How can a person die in Singapore for a whole year without anyone knowing?” was a frequent question. This is a small city where people live in packed proximity. What, no well-intentioned curiosity?

It was a sad reflection of today’s self-centred, fast-moving Singapore where many neighbours hardly talked, let alone cared, for each other. Above all, it highlighted the plight of senior citizens who live by themselves without children’s care in a high health-cost society without welfarism.

Social trends in the West, good or bad, often make their way to Asia. One outcome is a rising number of educated Singaporean youths losing their traditional obligation to live with (or near) their parents and financially look after them.

Many of the really bad cases dump them at old folks’ homes and do not visit them or pay for their upkeep.

The number of sickly aged being left behind in hospitals by working children who refuse to take them back, which was virtually unheard of 20 years ago, is on the rise here.

This is bad news. The decline in filial piety has caused the number of elderly citizens living alone to increase from 15,000 to 22,000, or 47%, during the past five years.

Because women generally live longer, a big majority – two in three – are women, and half of them are widows.

The government frowns on giving cash to help the poor and elderly and considers it a responsibility for families and private charity – not taxpayers.

It wants to avoid a crutch mentality where people abandon their work culture to rely on the government. But in recent years as the economic hardship increased, it began to increase help to the unemployed and the needy.

However, low-income citizens get various forms of help and discounts in housing, health and children’s education in relatively small doses. Senior citizens, above 55, also get discounts for public transport, and some tourist or entertainment places including cinemas.

Singapore has a rapidly ageing population, and better health and affluence have raised longevity. They are highly visible in the housing board heartland and in Chinatown, where groups gather at coffee shops or parks to chat and play chess.

The first generation of citizens, who were 21 when Singapore became independent in 1965, has now reached the retirement age (62).

It played a major role in developing Singapore into a rich, modern state and overall has benefited from it, but it is now finding the world, with its new technology and global business, bypassing them.

With only a low education and little skill, but possessing a sturdy soul, these citizens who are 65 and above (8.4% of the population) are facing their twilight years unable to retire or get a good job.

The economic transformation, including the closure of manufacturing factories, has driven them out of their jobs. Many have fallen between the cracks, currently caught between lower-paying service work and high health costs.

Actually those who have a job, or a sufficient retirement nest or whose children are financially looking after them are the least troubled. Worst are the jobless, sickly and who live alone (many in single-room flats).

In recent elections, observers suspected that a large number of the elderly who are facing difficulties had turned against the People’s Action Party.

The majority, however, remain grudging supporters because they feel beholden for what it had done.

However critical of it, two out of three Singaporeans still believe it is the best party to govern this place.

For many, the future looks bleak as technology marches relentlessly against them. Last year, workers aged 50 and above comprised 22% of the labour force. Many can’t even use the computer or work in an English-language workplace.

The government has a skills upgrading programme, but it is a long process – for those who respond.

For the extreme cases, the caring comes from social volunteers. Students clean up their homes, while social groups deliver cooked food every day.

And, of course, check to ensure no one falls sick or die unattended.

o Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com

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