"She's Dr Xu Na, not Ms" — 24kg woman who was found dead in Sengkang flat was Cambridge-educated academic

SINGAPORE: Public attention has returned to a tragic case in Sengkang following a coroner’s inquiry into the deaths of a father and daughter discovered in their flat last October. Online, some Singaporeans have also pointed out that the woman at the centre of the case, widely referred to in some reports as “Ms Xu Na”, was in fact Dr Xu Na, a Cambridge-educated PhD holder.

Originally from northeast China, Dr Xu moved to Singapore at a young age to pursue her education, enrolling in a neighbourhood school. Described by her tutor as one of the most outstanding, well-behaved and sensible students in her cohort, Dr Xu excelled academically and in 1997, she won first place in a nationwide Chinese composition competition in the junior college category.

She went on to study computer science at the National University of Singapore, completing her bachelor’s degree in just three years in 2001. That same year, she and her parents moved into an eighth-floor flat at Block 324D Sengkang East Way, the same unit where she would later be found.

In 2003, she obtained a master’s degree before continuing her studies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She completed her doctorate in 2008 and later worked as a researcher at the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA) between 2009 and 2012.

Little is publicly known about her life between 2013 and 2016. In 2016, her mother, a Singapore permanent resident died of cancer. The loss appears to have had a profound impact. From around 2016 or 2017, her father became her primary source of support, and the pair reportedly lived a reclusive life.

On Oct 6, 2025, both were found dead in their Sengkang flat. Investigations later indicated that her father had likely died about a month earlier.

Details from the coroner’s inquiry this week shed further light on the circumstances leading up to Dr Xu’s death. A police inspector testified that she weighed just 24kg when her body was discovered. She had been suffering from psychosis and was said to have refused food and water due to fears of being poisoned.

No signs of injury or trauma were found, and both deaths were determined to be from natural causes, with no evidence of foul play.

Investigators also noted the absence of food in the flat, apart from some condiments in the refrigerator. There was no stove in the unit; according to a relative, it had been removed by her father as a safety precaution.

As the findings circulate, discussions online have not only revisited the circumstances of the deaths but also highlighted the importance of accurately recognising the late Dr Xu’s academic achievements and her accomplished life that was cut short in such a tragic manner.

Some eagled eyed Singaporeans online noted that Singapore’s national broadsheet, The Straits Times, is among the publications that referred to Dr Xu as Ms Xu. Netizens have expressed concern and have urged the publication to be more careful, given its position as the flagship publication of SPH Media Trust which is receiving almost $1 billion in government funding.