SINGAPORE: Arriving in the Republic for the first time, a man felt the country was nice and rich and planned to burgle homes as he wanted to earn money.
Chinese national Huang Xiaozong, 41, researched where the wealthier parts of Singapore were and targeted homes in Sentosa and Serangoon Gardens that appeared empty.
On Friday (July 10), Huang pleaded guilty to two counts of housebreaking. He will be sentenced on Aug 14.
The court heard that Huang arrived in Singapore on Dec 5, 2025, and booked himself into a hotel in Little India.
A day after his arrival, he went to Sentosa and walked around before coming across a suite at a luxury hotel there.
Court documents said the first victim lived at the suite occasionally, and was abroad at the time.
Observing that nobody was inside, Huang entered the unit through its rear balcony door and forced open the sliding door.
He swept through the unit, stealing a Chanel watch valued at $30,000, five rings worth $25,000 and a gold necklace worth $3,000.
He then returned to his hotel with the stolen items.
The theft was discovered two days later when a housekeeper entered the unit and discovered Huang’s footprints and some items missing.
On Dec 7, 2025, Huang went to Serangoon Gardens.
Arriving between 7pm and 8pm, he spotted a house that appeared to be empty without any lights switched on and climbed over the gate.
Inside the house, Huang stole over $47,000 worth of jewellery, including rings, gold necklaces, a diamond necklace, diamond earrings and a pair of wedding rings.
At around 8pm, he spotted another house that appeared to be empty and climbed over the gate. He fled back to his hotel with the stolen goods when a domestic helper spotted him and asked him what he was doing.
The home owner returned that evening and called the police.
Huang was traced back to his hotel where he was arrested on Dec 8, 2025. The value of all the stolen loot had a combined value of $105,000. - The Straits Times/ANN
