Pair from overseas syndicate admit breaking into S’pore house, stealing over $570k in valuables
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SINGAPORE – Two men who were part of a China-based criminal syndicate came to Singapore to commit burglary, making off with valuables worth more than $570,000 from a house in Windsor Park Road.
Chinese nationals Long Zhihua, 38, and Luo Changchang, 44, were arrested on June 26, and the authorities later seized some of their loot.
Despite this, the victim, a 53-year-old woman, still suffered a loss of more than $390,000 as a portion of the stolen items was not recovered.
On Dec 17, Long and Luo each pleaded guilty to one count of committing housebreaking to commit theft.
Long also faces one charge of being in possession of other valuables that were suspected to be stolen items. This charge will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
This is the second reported case this week linked to such a syndicate.
In an unrelated case, Wu Jinxing, 28, was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Dec 16
He had flown to Singapore in July to retrieve nearly $500,000 in cash and valuables that two burglars – Wu Jianxin, 30, and Huang Ziqian, 35, who are still at large – had earlier stolen. All three are Chinese nationals.
For the current case, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Kathy Chu said Long arrived in Singapore on June 19 and checked into a room at a Geylang hotel.
Luo came here on or around June 21 and shared the room with Long.
The pair left the premises that evening and went to Windsor Park Road near Upper Thomson Road. They wandered around the neighbourhood looking for houses to burgle, and spotted the victim’s home which had no lights on.
The men climbed over the property’s fence at around 7.40pm and entered the house. At the time of the offence, the victim’s mother and two helpers were in a separate building within the premises.
Long prised open a glass door to the victim’s bedroom, opened a wardrobe and removed some drawers that contained boxes of jewellery.
He handed the jewellery to Luo, who used a plastic bag to store them. The valuables included multiple earrings and hair clips, including a gem-studded one.
The two then left the house at around 8.15pm and went back to their hotel room.
The victim returned home shortly before 11.50pm that day, and about 25 minutes later realised that some pieces of her jewellery were missing.
She alerted the police after she looked through the drawers and found more valuables missing.
Officers managed to trace Long and Luo after viewing CCTV footage taken near the crime scene, and arrested the pair on June 26.
The two men were taken back to their hotel room, where officers managed to recover some of their loot.
The DPP said: “They failed to disclose the full details of how they had broken into the victim’s room, (and) what happened to the victim’s other (valuables).
“They also lied about their relationship with each other, and their purpose of coming to Singapore.”
The pair are expected to be sentenced on Jan 16, 2025.
For committing housebreaking to commit theft, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
