Three foreigners given more than 5 years' jail for conspiring to break into homes and steal valuables
In a group with three other men, Yang Chao, Zhou Qifa and He Jiao conspired to break into homes in Singapore after seeing multiple videos on Chinese social media about how wealthy Singapore is.
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SINGAPORE: Three Chinese nationals who travelled to Singapore to break into houses and steal expensive items after they saw multiple videos on social media about wealthy Singaporeans were sentenced to jail on Thursday (Apr 30).
The three men, Yang Chao, Zhou Qifa and He Jiao, conspired to target vulnerable properties in Singapore, break into the houses, steal valuables and leave the country with them.
Both Yang, 42, and He, 38, were sentenced to five years and three months in prison, while Zhou, 37, was sentenced to five years and five months in prison.
They were part of a larger group of men who travelled to Singapore by land from Malaysia multiple times to try breaking into homes to steal valuable items.
A fourth man, Zhou Yinggui, 36, is charged with similar offences, while another two, Hu Wen and Zhou Ji, remain at large.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Benedict Teong sought a sentence of five years and three months to five years and 10 months in prison for all three men, arguing for general deterrence.
They took steps to ensure that their actions would be difficult to detect and targeted vulnerable houses in locations with fewer passersby or with no CCTVs, he added.
The prosecution also highlighted the transnational element of the case, arguing that the men saw Singapore as a “venue for easy pickings”. They called for District Judge Terence Tay to send a significant signal to deter others from committing the same crimes.
While only Yang was involved in a successful break-in, Zhou and He were involved in a second attempt to break into houses, Mr Teong noted.
In mitigation, Yang’s lawyer Wilson Foo of Folich LLC said his client was very remorseful and sorry to the victim.
Yang intended to make restitution but did not have the money to compensate the victim. While in remand, he made a request to call his employer in China to pay the victim from his previous remuneration, but his request was denied because he was not allowed overseas calls, his lawyer said.
Describing Yang as a “simple-minded construction worker”, Mr Foo claimed his client was not the mastermind of the crimes. He also highlighted that Yang’s mother remains very ill, that his daughter may have to withdraw from university because of their family’s financial difficulties since his wife cannot work because she looks after their three children.
Zhou’s lawyer, Ms Diana Foo of Legal Eagles, said her client hoped to get the lightest sentence possible as he is extremely remorseful.
Zhou was “naive and simpleminded” to have been roped into the syndicate to commit these offences, she added.
His elderly mother, who lives alone, is very sick, said Ms Foo. “He hopes that he will have the opportunity to see her again.”
He, who represented himself, said he had to support his mother and hoped that the judge would be lenient in imposing the lightest possible sentence.
In sentencing the three men, Judge Tay noted that Singapore’s residents are accustomed to law and order and enjoy a high degree of trust.
This should not be threatened by foreigners who come to Singapore to commit serious crimes and flee with their “ill-begotten gains”, he added, stressing that housebreaking in residential areas is particularly aggravating since it violates the privacy of residents.
This case was especially egregious, considering that the men made more than one trip to Singapore with a “single-minded” objective of committing housebreaking, and they demonstrated patience in looking for houses that appeared more vulnerable, said Judge Tay.
The group also had defined roles, division of labour and cooperated operations, he said, adding that Zhou took the effort on each trip to buy screwdrivers and wrenches to facilitate their plans.
“Like-minded foreigners should take heed and be mindful of the effectiveness of law enforcement in Singapore and that the law will come down hard on them if they are caught,” said the judge.
FIRST ATTEMPT
The three trips occurred between July and August 2025. In early July that year, He and Zhou travelled to Kuala Lumpur where they met Yang and the two other men who are currently at large.
They discussed and agreed to break into homes in Singapore after seeing multiple videos on Chinese social media about how wealthy Singapore is, court documents showed.
The group thought it would be easier to obtain valuable items by breaking into homes in Singapore and planned to scout for vulnerable landed residential properties, break into these homes, steal valuables and then leave the country with them.
After they arrived in Singapore on Jul 16, 2025, Zhou bought screwdrivers and wrenches from a hardware store to use for breaking into homes – the flat tip of a screwdriver would make it easy to pry open windows and doors.
Zhou was familiar with such tools because he had experience working in the construction industry, the court heard.
The five men split into two groups and agreed that if either group broke into a home successfully, they would split the stolen items with the other members.
For two days, the two groups of men took private-hire vehicles to private landed properties in various neighbourhoods in Singapore to look for houses to break into.
He had reviewed a map of Singapore and identified areas with private landed properties for scouting, the court heard.
They looked for houses in more secluded places that were adjacent to forested areas or parks, and entered forested areas bordering landed properties with the intention to climb over fences from the back of these houses.
Specifically, they looked for houses that appeared empty, had no lights on, no CCTVs and no dogs.
After their search, the group comprising Yang and Hu identified a property as a suitable target on Jul 18. The residents of the property were all overseas except for a domestic helper in the house at the time, the court heard.
The two men waited until night fell and approached the house from the forested area behind it. Yang stayed outside to keep a lookout while Hu climbed over the fence, entered the house and removed a safe, which he threw over the wall to Yang.
The two then left with the safe, which contained cash, jewellery and other documents valued at a total of about S$57,400, including the safe itself.
They walked through the forested area for about 10 to 20 minutes, then Yang kept a lookout while Hu forced open the safe. Hu gave Yang US$1,200 in cash from the stolen items.
The next day, the men left Singapore with the stolen items. In the morning, a neighbour called the police about the attempted burglary and the police recovered the safe and some items nearby. Some items worth about S$56,500, including some cash and all the jewellery that was in the safe, remain unrecovered.
SECOND ATTEMPT
Three of the men, He, Zhou Qifa and Zhou Ji, decided to make a second trip to Singapore to try breaking into a house again.
They returned just days after they left Singapore following their first trip, and Zhou Qifa bought screwdrivers from a hardware store again.
Between Jul 22 and Jul 24, the three men travelled to a private landed property estate near MacRitchie Reservoir.
However, they could not identify any targets and eventually encountered police patrolling the area. They decided to discontinue their plans and left Singapore on Jul 24.
THIRD ATTEMPT AND ARREST
Making a third trip, He, Zhou Qifa and Yang decided to return to Singapore with Zhou Yinggui on Aug 8 to financially benefit from breaking into houses.
Zhou Yinggui, who had just been recruited, knew of the group and had agreed to participate in the operations, the court was told.
Again, after arriving in Singapore, Zhou Qifa bought screwdrivers, wrenches and gloves.
The group split into pairs and agreed that they would share the stolen items if either was successful.
At about 6pm that day, they travelled to estates – He and Zhou Qifa alighted at King Albert Park mall while Yang and Zhou Yinggui alighted at Jelita Mall and walked to the rail corridor.
All four men entered forested areas to scout for houses that they could break into without being detected.
By then, the police had been alerted to He, Zhou and Yang’s entry into Singapore, and had commenced an operation in the Holland-Bukit Timah area.
Police officers, including officers from the Gurkha contingent, were stationed at various forested areas to look out for the men.
He and Zhou Qifa were spotted by the police along the main path of the rail corridor near Bukit Timah Road, and He was arrested at 8pm. Zhou Qifa managed to flee and left the area on a bus, but was later arrested at 321 Clementi Shopping Centre at about 8.40pm.
Yang and Zhou Yinggui were spotted in a forested area, and police officers detained Yang at about 8.35pm after giving chase.
Zhou Yinggui escaped and made his way back to their hotel, where he was arrested the next morning.
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