Madam Sim Seok Inn's grave marker (above) and the remains of her ceremonial funeral clothes were found at the site next to Block 711 Yishun Avenue 5 on Monday. -- PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

A GROUP of construction workers at a lift-upgrading site in Yishun hit upon a grisly find on Monday - the forgotten grave of a woman who died in 1971.

Rotten wooden planks, a grave marker bearing her name, age and date of death, and even the remains of her ceremonial funeral clothing were found in a pit at the site next to Block 711, Yishun Avenue 5.

The site foreman, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, told Shin Min Daily that his workers had been excavating the site when they came across what appeared to be the remains of a wooden coffin.

They next found the grave marker, which was in good condition.

The grave marker identified the dead woman as Madam Sim Seok Inn, who died on Sept 14, 1971, at the age of 83. It also placed her as having come from Chenghai district in Chao prefecture in China's Guangdong province.

Fengshui specialist Cecil Lee, 51, said Yishun Avenue 5 was a Teochew cemetery established in the 1920s for the good fengshui it drew from being near Seletar Reservoir.

Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.