Last Friday (1 Sep), Singaporeans were busy heading to the ballot box to vote for our next President.
However, a man allegedly took the chance to break into four houses in Pasir Ris on that day.
Source: Singapore Police Force via Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
Four members of the public tried to detain him, but he was ultimately arrested 19 hours later.
In a Facebook post on Monday (4 Sep), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said a 35-year-old man was allegedly seen inside a residential unit along Pasir Ris Road on the night of 1 Sep.
He had a black haversack with him and attempted to flee.
However, four people attempted to detain him — two domestic helpers aged 27 and 56, and two men aged 69 and 70.
They managed to pull off the black haversack before he escaped.
The SPF was alerted to the incident at 8.55pm that night.
Upon inspection, the black haversack was found to contain several items including cash in Singapore and foreign currencies.
It also had valuables like watches, clothing and housebreaking implements like a bolt cutter, hacksaw and screwdrivers.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
The night wasn’t over yet — the man allegedly broke into three more houses in the Pasir Ris area.
Just over than an hour after the first case, the SPF received another alert at 11.10pm.
This time, a residential unit along Pasir Ris Terrace was allegedly broken into. S$1,500 in cash was reported missing.
The following day, a third report was filed at about 2.20pm — another Pasir Ris Terrace residential unit was allegedly broken into, though no losses were detected.
Pasir Ris Terrace. Source: Google Maps. Photo for illustration purposes only.
All three cases were believed to be linked to the same man.
The police then scanned CCTV footage and discovered that the man had allegedly broken into a fourth house in the area, though that case wasn’t reported.
To identify the man, SPF sent a shirt and mask that was inside the haversack to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to get his DNA.
They also made extensive ground enquiries and scanned more CCTV images.
The joint effort involved officers from Bedok Police Division supported by officers from the Police Operations Command Centre, Police Intelligence Department, Special Operations Command, Gurkha Contingent, Airport Police Division, and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
After they established the identity of the suspect, he was swiftly arrested at Changi Airport Terminal 4 on Saturday (2 Sep) at about 3.30pm — about 19 hours after the first alert.
He was found at the Departure Hall, attempting to flee Singapore, SPF said.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
On his person, they recovered cash amounting to more than S$1,600 in Singapore dollars and S$1,900 in foreign currencies.
He was charged in court on Monday (4 Sep) for two counts of housebreaking and theft under Section 451 of the Penal Code 1871.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years’ jail and a fine.
The four members of the public were lauded by the SPF for their courage and public spiritedness in trying to stop the suspect before the police arrived.
After all, if they hadn’t managed to grab his haversack, it wouldn’t have been possible to ascertain his identity from his belongings.
All four of them were presented with the Public Spiritedness Award by Bedok Police Division.
The two domestic helpers have been identified as Ms Abaya Rizzalyn Estrella and Ms Chita Guzman Abaya.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
The two men were named as Mr Goh Kim Hock and Mr Gan Kok Beng.
Source: Singapore Police Force on Facebook
Commending them for their bravery, Assistant Commissioner of Police Justin Wong said,
This case exemplifies how the Police work hand-in-hand with the community to keep Singapore safe and secure.
Also read: Man Breaks Into Punggol Flat After Finding Keys With Address, Steals S$10K Worth Of Items
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Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force on Facebook
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