Singapore crime scene visit: Four suspected housebreakers taken back to Bukit Timah sites under police escort
Zhuo Yinggui, 36; Yang Chao, 41; Zhou Qifa, 36; and He Jiao, 38 — all from China's Guizhou province — were each charged on August 10 with one count of possessing tools for housebreaking, according to The Straits Times.
They are believed to have ties to Chinese burglary syndicates.
In the morning, He and Zhou were escorted separately to the Rail Corridor off Bukit Timah Road, where police say they were caught with the tools.
Both had their hands and legs restrained.
Meanwhile, the other two suspects Yang and Zhuo, who were arrived separately, were taken to another location near Laurel Wood Avenue, with Yang's site visit lasting only briefly while Zhuo's was longer.
According to court documents, the four were stopped on August 8 at the Rail Corridor near Greenleaf estate carrying two black balaclavas, three bent-tip screwdrivers, three pairs of gloves, two wrenches, a torchlight, clothing and more than S$400 (RM1,300) in cash.
According to police, the men were first spotted behaving suspiciously in a park.
They fled into a nearby forested area when approached but were tracked down — two were caught within two hours in the forest, a third was detained later that day at a mall near Clementi, and the last was found the following morning at a hotel in Geylang.
Officers later recovered clothing belonging to the suspects from a forested spot near Laurel Wood Avenue.
Investigators are also checking whether the group is linked to three housebreaking cases and one attempted break-in reported between April and July in the Rail Corridor area.
In two of those cases, thieves made off with about S$60,000 worth of luxury watches and jewellery.
The four men had entered Singapore via Woodlands Checkpoint on August 8 on social visit passes.
They remain in remand for further questioning.
If found guilty, they face up to two years' jail and a fine.
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