Pair accused of burglary each handed one more charge involving stolen items worth over $6k

SINGAPORE – Two foreigners

accused of burgling landed properties in Singapore

have each been handed one more housebreaking charge involving cash and valuables worth more than $6,000 in total.

Chinese nationals Feng Yunlong, 38, and Zhang Yongxiang, 52, appeared in a district court on Dec 27 and are now accused of breaking into a house in Zehnder Road, near Pasir Panjang Road, at around 4pm on Dec 18.

The pair allegedly stole items, including a wallet worth $5,000 and multiple pieces of jewellery. Each man now faces two housebreaking charges.

On Dec 20, they were each handed a charge

for a similar offence of housebreaking.

That charge was for allegedly breaking into a house in Greenleaf View near Holland Road at around 9pm on Dec 16 to steal two watches worth nearly $9,000 in total.

The police had earlier said that officers arrested the pair on Dec 18 after receiving reports of housebreaking and theft at both places. Officers identified the Chinese nationals after studying footage from security cameras in the area.

They traced the men to a Joo Chiat hotel and arrested them at around 6pm – about six hours after the first report was made on Dec 18, the police said at a press conference on Dec 19.

The officers also recovered two watches worth about $8,800 in total, a branded pouch worth about $5,000, about $3,570 in cash and an assortment of jewellery.

On Dec 26,

police took the pair to the Greenleaf View property

in a visit that lasted around 20 minutes.

To the right of the property was a construction site of a semi-detached house. The Straits Times understands that Zhang allegedly climbed into the victim’s property from the third floor of the construction site, while Feng is believed to have kept a lookout outside.

The police have not ruled out the possibility that Zhang and Feng could be linked to housebreaking syndicates that were active in Singapore in mid-2024.

It was previously reported that international criminal syndicates broke into landed properties here,

stealing about $3.85 million from at least 10 homes

between June and August. The gangs largely targeted homes near the Rail Corridor and around Bukit Timah Road. At least one house in Windsor Park Road, in the Upper Thomson area, was also burgled.

The cases involving Zhang and Feng have been adjourned to Jan 3, 2025.

For each housebreaking charge, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.