On 1 Sep 2023, the Presidential Election isn’t the only exciting event to take place that day.
A man broke into four homes and almost managed to flee Singapore, if not for the police.
Here’s what you need to know about the burglar who chose polling day to commit his crimes.
35YO Chinese National Broke into 4 Landed Properties During Polling Day
Chinese national Wei Qingyou, 35, is linked to not one, not two, but four landed property burglary cases that took place on 1 Sep 2023.
The police said that they were alerted to the first case at 9pm on 1 Sep 2023.
Subsequent reports were received at 11.10pm and 2.20pm on 2 Sep 2023.
The fourth case was not reported to the police.
Four People Had Tried to Stop Him
As it turns out, it wasn’t easy for Wei to carry out his burglary.
In one of the homes, four individuals had caught Wei in the act and tried to stop him from escaping.
Two are foreign domestic workers, 27-year-old Ms Abaya Rizzalyn Estrella and 56-year-old Ms Chita Guzman Abaya.
The other two are 69-year-old Mr Gan Kok Beng and 70-year-old Mr Goh Kim Hock.
The two men were at a friend’s house when Ms Chita told them there was someone on the second floor.
Mr Gan said Mr Goh was the first to rush upstairs while he followed. Then, he witnessed Ms Abaya and Mr Goh pulling at the burglar’s haversack.
Mr Gan noted that the man was quite strong when he pitched in to help.
The burglar also allegedly tried to attack Mr Goh with a sharp object so he quickly pulled the curtain between them to act as a barrier.
The burglar eventually managed to escape, but he had to leave his bag behind.
The bag contained cash, foreign currencies, valuables, clothing, and housebreaking equipment such as a bolt cutter, hacksaw and screwdrivers.
The shirt and mask found in the bag were sent to the Health Sciences Authority for DNA tests.
The four individuals will be given the Public Spiritedness Award.
Wei was caught by the police at Changi Airport Terminal 4 at around 3.30pm on 2 Sep 2023. He was reportedly trying to leave the country.
During his arrest, S$1,600 and foreign currencies worth S$1,900 were taken from him.
With the aid of CCTV footage and ground enquiries, officers from the Bedok division managed to identify the suspect and arrest him within 19 hours of the first report.
They were supported by officers from the Police Operations Command Centre, the Police Intelligence Department, Special Operations Command, the Gurkha Contingent, Airport Police Division and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
Wei had allegedly committed these crimes shortly after arriving in Singapore.
He is facing two charges of housebreaking. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to a maximum of 10 years per charge.