Joo Chiat residents urged to protect their property after wave of burglaries

SINGAPORE – Some Joo Chiat residents are concerned about the recent spate of property break-ins and are on heightened alert for suspicious activities near their homes.

Although the area has not been affected so far, residents received a warning from police last week reminding them to protect their property from burglary.

Business development manager Yong Boon Kheng, 61, said news of break-ins in other parts of Singapore, including Bukit Timah and Windsor Park, was a cause for concern.

Mr Yong has lived with his wife, 64-year-old housewife Doris Koh, in a two-storey house in Joo Chiat for about 30 years.

The family, which now includes one of the grown-up daughters and her children, has always taken precautions against crime, such as lighting up the front of the house with floodlights, he said. As far as he can remember, however, there has not been a single burglary in the neighborhood since they moved in.

The break-ins, which occurred between June 1 and August 4, have put some residents, like 31-year-old Alan Mah, on heightened alert.

Mr Mah, managing director of a cleaning company who lives in a terraced house with his wife, two children and parents, said: “We always tell our family members to lock the door and most of the time someone is at home.”

The report, which was obtained by The Straits Times, states that residential buildings were broken into and that the perpetrators targeted houses with low perimeter walls, unlocked doors and windows left open.

Between June 1 and August 4, police received reports of burglaries at ten houses around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road, as well as at least one house on Windsor Park Road in the Bishan district.

The crimes were committed by international crime syndicates whose members forcibly entered the homes and stole cash and valuables worth around $3.85 million, which were left in forest areas to be picked up by other members of the syndicates.

Police said they had arrested three foreign nationals, seized $1.36 million of the loot and identified 14 other people who could assist them in their investigation.

They have also increased security measures in private residential areas and are using cameras and drones, among other things, to track down people hiding in forest areas.