Joo Chiat residents advised to safeguard properties following spate of burglaries
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Joo Chiat residents received an advisory last week from the police reminding them to safeguard their properties from burglary.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
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SINGAPORE – Concerned about the recent spate of burglaries at landed properties, some Joo Chiat residents are on heightened alert for suspicious activity near their homes.
Although the area has not been hit so far, residents received an advisory last week from the police reminding them to safeguard their properties from burglary.
Business development manager Yong Boon Kheng, 61, said the news of break-ins in other parts of Singapore, including Bukit Timah and Windsor Park, has been a source of worry.
Mr Yong has lived in a two-storey house in Joo Chiat for about 30 years with his wife, 64-year-old housewife Doris Koh.
The family, which now includes one of their adult daughters and her children, has always taken precautions against crime, including installing floodlights to light up the front of their house, he said, though there has not been a case of housebreaking in the neighbourhood that he can remember since they moved in.
The burglaries, which happened between June 1 and Aug 4, have put some residents such as Mr Alan Mah, 31, on higher alert.
Mr Mah, a general manager at a cleaning company, who lives with his wife, two children and parents in a terraced house, said: “We always tell our family members to lock up, and we have someone around at home most of the time.”
The advisory, seen by The Straits Times, said residences had been broken into, and perpetrators had targeted homes with low perimeter walls, unlocked doors and windows that had been left open.
Between June 1 and Aug 4, the police received reports of burglaries at 10 homes around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road, and at least one house in Windsor Park Road, in the Bishan area.
The crimes were perpetrated by international criminal syndicates
The police said they have arrested three foreigners, recovered $1.36 million of the loot and identified 14 other people who can assist them in their investigations.
They have also enhanced security measures in private residential estates, including employing the use of cameras and drones to detect people hiding in forested areas.
Mr Mah and Mr Yong were speaking on the sidelines of a dinner marking National Day in Joo Chiat, a ward in Marine Parade GRC roughly bound by Sims Avenue and East Coast Park that is made up entirely of private residences. It is also a neighbourhood and conservation area featuring many heritage shophouses.
A spokesperson for the Joo Chiat ward said there has been no housebreaking recorded in the last six months.
The dinner was held on Aug 17 in an empty field in Jalan Sempadan, and was attended by around 1,000 people.
It featured performances from various groups, including St Stephen’s School’s symphonic band and the Peranakan Association.
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who is an MP for the Joo Chiat ward, recapped in a speech the plans for upgrading the area.
This includes the building of a new integrated development that includes a community club and sports facilities, slated for completion in 2028 or 2029, and upgrading of pavements and drains in the area.
Also in attendance were Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, who are also MPs for Marine Parade GRC.
Dr Choo Pei Ling, a long-term volunteer and new grassroots leader who was recently introduced to the public
