By Jie Lan / Karen Ng | Posted: 31 October 2012 2111 hrs
SINGAPORE: A 40-year-old man, who is in Singapore as
a tourist, has been arrested for housebreaking.
The man, who is from Guatemala in Central America, was caught at a
budget hotel in Balestier Road on Tuesday. He then led police to a
rented room in Claymore Drive, near Orchard Road.
There, police found 22 branded watches, 35 pieces of jewellery, and
foreign currencies with a total value of about S$300,000.
The suspect is believed to have stolen from nine landed
properties.
He will be charged in court on November 1.
Police have expressed concern with the increased number of
break-ins in October 2012 in landed properties, especially in the
Bukit Timah and Thomson areas.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner of Police and Commander of Tanglin
Police Division Lu Yeow Lim, said: "From this case and other
similar cases we have solved in the past, we know that there are
criminal gangs from overseas coming to Singapore to commit
housebreaking and other offences.
"The word out there is that Singaporeans are not security-conscious
and therefore easy prey. We will step up our patrol to address
this. But landed property owners must do their part to protect and
safeguard their own premises. This includes installing quality
grills, and gridlocks."
-CNA/ac
