SINGAPORE: A burglar who stole from homes in Sentosa and Serangoon Gardens was jailed on Friday (Aug 14).
Chinese national Huang Xiaozong, 41, was sentenced to 44 months’ jail.
He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of housebreaking. A third charge for criminal trespass was taken into consideration for sentencing.
It was the first time Huang had been in Singapore. He arrived here as a tourist on Dec 5, 2025, and checked into a hotel in Little India.
Seeing that it was a nice country, he planned to burgle homes and researched where the affluent areas were.
On Dec 6, 2025, he went to Sentosa and came across a suite at a luxury hotel there.
The victim lived at the suite occasionally and was abroad at the time.
Seeing that no one was inside, Huang entered the unit through its rear balcony door and forced open the sliding door.
He found a Chanel watch valued at $30,000, five rings worth $25,000 and a gold necklace worth $3,000.
He stole the items and brought them back to his hotel.
The next day, Huang went to Serangoon Gardens and spotted a house that appeared to be empty without any lights switched on.
He climbed over the gate and stole over $47,000 worth of jewellery in the house, including rings and necklaces.
Spotted
But even after that heist, he wanted to burgle another property in the area.
He had climbed over the gate of a house at Serangoon Gardens, but was spotted by a domestic helper who asked him what he was doing.
Huang fled and the police traced him back to his hotel and arrested him on Dec 8, 2025.
He had stolen $105,000 worth of items.
For each count of housebreaking, Huang could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined. - The Straits Times/ANN
