4 housebreaking suspects taken to Bukit Timah crime scene under police escort
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(Clockwise from top left) Zhuo Yinggui, Yang Chao, Zhou Qifa and He Jiao were each charged with one count of possessing housebreaking tools on Aug 10.
ST PHOTOS: KELVIN CHNG
- Four Chinese nationals were charged with possessing housebreaking tools after being arrested near Bukit Timah.
- The suspects are believed to be linked to Chinese housebreaking syndicates and are being investigated for prior incidents.
- Police found the men with tools, clothing, and cash; investigations continue, and they face jail and fines if convicted.
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SINGAPORE – Less than a week after the police foiled an attempted housebreaking and arrested four men, the suspects were taken back to a forested area in Bukit Timah where they had allegedly been found with housebreaking tools.
Zhuo Yinggui, 36; Yang Chao, 41; Zhou Qifa, 36; and He Jiao, 38, were each charged on Aug 10 with one count of possessing housebreaking tools.
The four Chinese nationals are believed to be linked to Chinese housebreaking syndicates.
On the morning of Aug 14, He and Zhou were taken separately to the crime scene at the Rail Corridor off Bukit Timah Road, with their hands and legs in restraints.
At another location near Laurel Wood Avenue, the other two suspects arrived separately.
Yang’s scene visit was brief, while Zhuo’s police interview on the ground took longer.
Court documents revealed they were allegedly spotted on Aug 8 at the Rail Corridor near Greenleaf estate with two black balaclavas, three screwdrivers bent at the tips, three pairs of gloves, two wrenches and a torchlight.
Besides housebreaking tools, there was also clothing and over $400 in cash.
The four men, from Guizhou province in China, were spotted behaving suspiciously in a park during a police operation. They escaped into a forested area after the police approached them.
But within two hours, two of them were arrested in the forested area.
The third man was arrested at a mall near Clementi on the same day, while the fourth was arrested the next morning at a Geylang hotel.
The Straits Times understands the men’s clothing was found in a forested area near Laurel Wood Avenue.
It was earlier reported that the four suspects had entered Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint on social visit passes on Aug 8.
Between April and July, there were three reported cases of housebreaking near the Rail Corridor, and one attempted housebreaking incident. In two of the housebreaking incidents, about $60,000 worth of luxury watches and jewellery were stolen.
Investigators are looking to determine if Zhuo, Yang, Zhou and He are linked to previous cases of housebreaking involving international criminal syndicates.
The four men have been remanded for further investigations. If convicted, they could be jailed for up to two years and fined.
