http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,194310,00.html?
JAILED FOR BREAKING INTO 10 HOMES
China national came to S'pore to burgle
By Crystal Chan
March 01, 2009
IN JUST three days, Chinese national Chen Jianhua ended up with four laptops, six handphones and four watches.
But he was no rich tourist on a spending spree in Singapore.
Chen, 33, had come here to break into homes.
From 20 Sep last year till his arrest on 24 Sep, he broke into 10 homes and escaped with valuables and $7,000 in cash.
Chen was jailed 71/2 years for his crimes last December.
Court documents didn't show when he arrived in Singapore.
But according to court papers, he began his spree at 2am on 20 Sep after he scaled the perimeter wall of The Imperial condominium at Jalan Rumbia, off Oxley Road.
He took just 30 minutes to break into four units by sliding open the balcony doors.
His loot included a Tag Heuer watch worth $2,700, a Rolex watch worth $4,500, an Apple iPhone worth $348, an IBM laptop worth $5,000, a Canon camera worth $1,700 and about $6,500 in cash.
After lying low for two days, Chen broke into a unit at Tanglin Park condominium at Ridley Park, escaping with a handphone worth $732, a Sony Vaio laptop worth $3,500 and a pair of sneakers worth $250.
The next day at 10pm, he broke into two units in Belmond Green, a condominium at Balmoral Road, and took valuables including a Hewlett-Packard laptop worth $3,600, a handphone worth $300 and a Blackberry phone worth $800.
Later, at 3.40am, he broke into two units at Aspen Heights, a condominium at River Valley Road, and stole, among other things, an IBM laptop worth $3,000 and an iPod Nano worth $428.
When he entered a third unit, an occupant, MissRetno, 33, saw him and screamed for help.
Chen fled and was arrested at his room in Hotel81 Gold, in Geylang, at 1.15pm on 24 Sep.
All the stolen items were recovered from his room.
Stiff sentence needed
He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of housebreaking and District Judge Sarjit Singh said a stiff sentence was necessary as he had carefully planned the burglaries.
The sentence was backdated to 26 Sep, when Chen was remanded.
In his judgment released on 30 Jan, Judge Singh wrote: 'The facts showed careful planning, organisation and execution by Chen. He targeted well-to-do residential areas.
'He showed a blatant and callous disregard for the law and his determination to commit the offences in Singapore.'
The fact that Chen had targeted residential properties to commit theft was also an aggravating factor, he wrote.
'Another aggravating factor is that Chen is a foreigner who decided to come to Singapore for the sole and nefarious purpose of committing these offences.
'The offences were committed in the early hours of the morning when the victims would be asleep and most vulnerable.'
Little credit was given to Chen's plea of guilt, as it merely served to save the authorities time and effort on investigation and prosecutions.
Chen, who did not have a lawyer, is appealing against the sentence.
JAILED FOR BREAKING INTO 10 HOMES
China national came to S'pore to burgle
By Crystal Chan
March 01, 2009
IN JUST three days, Chinese national Chen Jianhua ended up with four laptops, six handphones and four watches.
But he was no rich tourist on a spending spree in Singapore.
Chen, 33, had come here to break into homes.
From 20 Sep last year till his arrest on 24 Sep, he broke into 10 homes and escaped with valuables and $7,000 in cash.
Chen was jailed 71/2 years for his crimes last December.
Court documents didn't show when he arrived in Singapore.
But according to court papers, he began his spree at 2am on 20 Sep after he scaled the perimeter wall of The Imperial condominium at Jalan Rumbia, off Oxley Road.
He took just 30 minutes to break into four units by sliding open the balcony doors.
His loot included a Tag Heuer watch worth $2,700, a Rolex watch worth $4,500, an Apple iPhone worth $348, an IBM laptop worth $5,000, a Canon camera worth $1,700 and about $6,500 in cash.
After lying low for two days, Chen broke into a unit at Tanglin Park condominium at Ridley Park, escaping with a handphone worth $732, a Sony Vaio laptop worth $3,500 and a pair of sneakers worth $250.
The next day at 10pm, he broke into two units in Belmond Green, a condominium at Balmoral Road, and took valuables including a Hewlett-Packard laptop worth $3,600, a handphone worth $300 and a Blackberry phone worth $800.
Later, at 3.40am, he broke into two units at Aspen Heights, a condominium at River Valley Road, and stole, among other things, an IBM laptop worth $3,000 and an iPod Nano worth $428.
When he entered a third unit, an occupant, MissRetno, 33, saw him and screamed for help.
Chen fled and was arrested at his room in Hotel81 Gold, in Geylang, at 1.15pm on 24 Sep.
All the stolen items were recovered from his room.
Stiff sentence needed
He pleaded guilty to 10 charges of housebreaking and District Judge Sarjit Singh said a stiff sentence was necessary as he had carefully planned the burglaries.
The sentence was backdated to 26 Sep, when Chen was remanded.
In his judgment released on 30 Jan, Judge Singh wrote: 'The facts showed careful planning, organisation and execution by Chen. He targeted well-to-do residential areas.
'He showed a blatant and callous disregard for the law and his determination to commit the offences in Singapore.'
The fact that Chen had targeted residential properties to commit theft was also an aggravating factor, he wrote.
'Another aggravating factor is that Chen is a foreigner who decided to come to Singapore for the sole and nefarious purpose of committing these offences.
'The offences were committed in the early hours of the morning when the victims would be asleep and most vulnerable.'
Little credit was given to Chen's plea of guilt, as it merely served to save the authorities time and effort on investigation and prosecutions.
Chen, who did not have a lawyer, is appealing against the sentence.
