FOR the past nine years, she had lived with her husband and his widowed mother.
Her young daughter completed the family, described by neighbours as close-knit.
But on Thursday afternoon, the Filipina nurse's husband, Mohamed Redha Abdul Mutalib, 30, was arrested for allegedly killing his mother, Madam Asnah Aziz, 55.
She was found lying in a pool of blood in her kitchen, with multiple slash wounds.
Yesterday, Mohamed Redha was charged in a district court with the murder, which allegedly took place between 11am and 1.30pm on the 12th storey, the highest level at Block 20 Eunos Crescent.
Yesterday morning, his wife spoke to The New Paper briefly at the home of Mohamed Redha's sister, who lives in a neighbouring block.
With eyes puffy from lack of sleep, the wife, who declined to give her name, said Madam Asnah, whom she called "mother", had been a religious teacher for many years.
She said: "We are really not ready to say more at this stage. We are still taking it in." Overcome with emotion, she started tearing.
Many students
Neighbours said Madam Asnah had many students who went to her flat to learn to read the Quran.
Madam Wahidah Kismanto, 36, an Indonesian domestic helper living on the same floor as Madam Asnah, said classes were held three times a week.
A family friend who saw Madam Asnah on Wednesday night said she looked tired and was not her usual bubbly self.
The woman, who declined to be named, had dropped by Madam Asnah's flat yesterday morning, thinking she had fallen sick.
She was shocked to find out that she was dead.
She said Madam Asnah had two sons and a daughter, who are married, and that her five grandchildren were aged below 12.
Madam Asnah was a devout Muslim who would take her daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughters to religious classes, she added.
Madam Patricia Koh, 41, a housewife who lives two doors down from Madam Asnah, said her granddaughters are adorable.
She said in Mandarin: "She was a very good neighbour. She would give us lontong (a Malay dish) during Hari Raya.
"And on Sunday for Chinese New Year, she gave us chocolates, something she often did. She always smiled when she walked past our flat."
Madam Asnah had told Madam Koh's sister, who lives elsewhere, that she has been living in the block for 11 years.
Madam Koh said Madam Asnah had taken the lift with Madam Koh's father at around noon, just two hours before her body was found.
She said the two lifts on both sides of Madam Asnah's flat broke down between noon and 2pm. She had to take the stairs to return to her flat at about 2pm.
When she reached the 12th storey, she saw the trap door above the lift landing was open and thought it had to do with the lift breakdowns.
By then, the Singapore Civil Defence Force were at the scene and there was a crowd outside Madam Asnah's flat.
Madam Koh was shocked to see drops of blood in the living room leading to the kitchen where the woman was lying on the floor.
She said her mind went blank and she started trembling.
Shin Min Daily News reported that a 61-year-old man living on the same floor found a trail of blood in his kitchen when he and his wife returned home on Thursday night.
A set of housekeys were missing, as well as $500 cash from his wife's handbag.
Yesterday in court, Mohamed Redha was expressionless as the murder charge was read out. He wore a pale blue short-sleeved shirt and looked like he was in a daze.
Nobody from his family was present.
He is being remanded in the Changi Prison Complex Medical Centre for psychiatric evaluation and will be back in court on Feb17.
If convicted of murder, he faces the death penalty.
