Residents of the apartment complex where a dead man’s body was found in the tank they got their water from are reporting symptoms of trauma.

A number of residents who preferred to remain anonymous have revealed their distress

“The thought of it sickens me to the core,” one said.

“I keep feeling like I’ll throw up.”

Another said, “My children drank from the tap. I’m worried they may develop health problems.”

On Monday at an apartment in the city of Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, a decomposing corpse was discovered in the water tank after residents complained of a putrid smell from the tap water.

The police identified the man as 38-year-old Chinese surnamed Wong who had worked as a crew member of a ship in the nearby coastal town of Pohang.

According to the police, Wong had left a note next to the water tank claiming he had not been paid his wages. Why he had traveled to Gumi and to that particular apartment is not known.

Based on the level of decomposition of the body, the police estimate that he had been dead for more than 10 days.

Records showed Wong arrived at the apartment on April 20, the day after which he left his clothes and shoes at the entrance of the apartment’s first floor and disappeared.

Out of the 30 families that lived in the apartment, 12 have moved out.

The 50 remaining residents of the afflicted apartment are negotiating to advance the date of their move.

The apartment had been earmarked for demolition and reconstruction before the case was uncovered. Residents were scheduled to move out by June 18 at the latest.

The apartment management has decided to provide the people with bottled water up to their date of their relocation rather than cleanse the tank.

The Gumi city administration said the 0.2ppm residue chlorine in the tap water would have killed the germs from the corpse. No spread of disease has so far been detected.

A preliminary autopsy by police revealed no external violence on Wong’s body. The police will conduct further tests for poisoning and alcohol.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalm@heraldcorp.com)