Gruesome find baffles Singapore police

SINGAPORE -- Two rotting bodies, a champagne glass, wilted roses and a love note are part of a gruesome discovery that is continuing to baffle Singaporean investigators.

The decomposing corpses of a man and a woman were found Monday night in a car that had been left unattended in a shopping center car park in a Singaporean district known for its profusion of pubs and prostitutes.

A passerby noticed a foul smell emanating from the car and alerted authorities.

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Using a locksmith, police opened the car to find the man's body, spattered with candle wax and covered by a tablecloth in a wicker basket in the back seat of the vehicle.

The woman's body was in the boot of the car, surrounded by wilting roses, the Straits Times newspaper reported Wednesday.

Police are yet to establish the identity of the bodies and were trying to locate the registered owner of the vehicle.

A security camera recorded the sedan being driven into the car park on Friday, the paper reported.

Meanwhile, speculation is mounting in the local media as to the motive behind the deaths: was it the case of a jealous or jilted spouse or an episode of gangland killings?

Authorities have been cracking down on triad gangs, or secret societies, in the city-state.

Although such criminal groups are known to exist, they are rarely discussed in local media or police reports.