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Four Chinese nationals were charged on Sunday with possessing housebreaking tools following a one-day police manhunt in Singapore.
The four men were believed to be linked to housebreaking foreign syndicates involving Chinese nationals, police said.
The accused are: He Jiao, 38; Zhou Qifa, 36; Yang Chao, 41; and Zhou Yinggui, 36.
They may be connected to other housebreaking-related cases reported in the city state between April and July, according to police, who added that investigations are under way.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Serene Chiu said the four men had entered Singapore on social passes on Friday from Malaysia via the Woodlands Checkpoint.
For three of the men, this was not their first time entering Singapore, Chiu said, who is the commander of the police’s Clementi Division.
On the same day, police conducted an operation targeting housebreaking activities near the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road.
Officers noted that the suspects would typically exploit the forested areas along the Rail Corridor to conceal their movements while attempting to break into houses.

The joint operation involved officers from the Clementi Police Division, Police Operations Command Centre, Police Intelligence Department, Gurkha Contingent, Special Operations Command and the Home Team Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command.
Two suspects were arrested in the forested areas near the Rail Corridor on Friday. The third suspect was arrested at a mall near Clementi that same night, while the fourth suspect was arrested the following morning at a hotel in Geylang.
Various housebreaking tools such as screwdrivers and spanners, clothing and cash amounting to more than S$400 (US$296) were found in suspects’ possession and seized for investigation.
The cash was likely their own, and there was no evidence to suggest they were able to commit a crime before they were arrested, the police said. All four have been remanded.
If convicted, they may be fined and face a jail term of up to two years.

Links to a foreign syndicate
During a media briefing on Sunday, Chiu said the four men were from Guizhou province.
“There are reasons to believe they are known to each other,” she said, adding that the men had arrived at the Rail Corridor on Friday around the same time, despite coming from different directions.
Chiu also said police had not yet ruled out the possibility that the four men were linked to a previously active foreign crime syndicate.
Between early June and August last year, 10 housebreaking cases were reported in private estates around the Rail Corridor and Bukit Timah Road, with stolen items valued at S$3.85 million (US$3 million). Some of those cases were linked to foreign syndicates.
In April, three housebreaking cases were reported near the Rail Corridor. In one of those cases, the attempt did not result in any missing items.
Around S$60,000 worth of watches, cash and other valuables was reported missing in the last two cases.
The police said in a statement on Sunday that they “do not tolerate such brazen acts of crime and will spare no effort to apprehend offenders and deal with them to the fullest extent of the law”, adding that they had stepped up measures to prevent and deter housebreaking and theft at private residential estates since June last year.
This included placing additional police cameras at strategic locations and frequent police patrols. Officers have also conducted regular engagements with residents from the estates and issued crime prevention advisories.
“While such crimes remain generally low, the police encourage residents to adopt the following crime prevention measures, such as installing CCTVs and burglar alarm systems to protect themselves and their homes,” the police statement said.
This story was first published by CNA


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Singapore arrests 4 Chinese nationals accused of burglary

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The accused came from Guizhou province and are aged between 36 and 41, according to police


The accused came from Guizhou province and are aged between 36 and 41, according to police.


Malaysia

China

Singapore arrests 4 Chinese nationals accused of burglary

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The accused came from Guizhou province and are aged between 36 and 41, according to police

The accused came from Guizhou province and are aged between 36 and 41, according to police