SINGAPORE – The landed property near MacRitchie Reservoir targeted by a balaclava-wearing intruder was not the only one broken into, with police revealing that a similar incident had occurred just days earlier. On Feb 21,a man broke into a home in Marigold Drive but left when an occupant screamed. Police said a separate incident had occurred just days earlier.   “On Feb 17, at about 7.50pm, the police received a call for assistance at a residential estate along Taman Permata.   “Preliminary investigations revealed that an individual had allegedly entered a residential premise without permission and had left prior to police’s arrival,” a spokesman said, adding that efforts to trace the suspect are under way. The two homes are about a four-minute drive from each other near Upper Thomson Road and next to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Amanda (not her real name), who has lived in her Marigold Drive home for 40 years, said the balaclava-wearing intruder who broke into her house was brazen because there were obvious signs that people were in.   Speaking to The Straits Times in her home on Feb 23, she said some of the lights in her multi-storey house, which backs onto a forested area in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, were turned on at the time.   She said her female tenant, who rents a room on the ground floor at the front of the house, was the one who spotted the intruder. Amanda, who was on the second floor at the time with her helper, said she heard a scream from her tenant at around 9.30pm.   She rushed down to find her tenant pointing towards the back of the house, which leads to the forest. The backdoor was ajar, with signs that it had been tampered with. Amanda said the man, who was wearing a black balaclava, hat, long-sleeved shirt and trousers, did not get anything from her home. “They are getting so daring. You typically hear of burglars trying to pick houses that are empty to avoid home owners. But the lights in my house were turned on and he still decided to target us,” she added. Later that night, five Special Operations Command police vehicles were spotted in Upper Thomson Road, but the intruder was not found. Amanda said that while she had read reports of similar incidents taking place over the past two years, she was shocked that it happened to her at 9.30pm, when many of her neighbours were still awake. Her home is one of around 11 in Marigold Drive that back onto the adjoining forested area in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. She said she was told by police that there was a separate incident earlier. Some of the homes in Taman Permata also border the same dense forested area. Amanda’s house borders Marigold Drive and the dense vegetation of MacRitchie Reservoir, with clearings on either side. Amanda said it is about 600m to the park’s jogging trails. ST PHOTO: ANDREW JAMES WONG The incidents mirror a spate of break-ins at landed properties in 2024 , including an incident at the nearby Windsor Park Road, which saw two Chinese nationals steal over $570,000 worth of jewellery.   In total, police received 10 reports of burglaries at landed properties between June 2024 and August 2024 in homes close to the Rail Corridor, Bukit Timah Road and Windsor Park Road. Investigations led to the arrest of three men and the identification of another 14 who had left Singapore by that time. They were all Chinese nationals.   Amanda said she has been speaking to a security company to install cameras at her home since the incident. “They will also go to my neighbour’s house to do the same thing,” she said, adding that her neighbour had created a group chat for those living in the area. “It seems to be a repeated strategy used by these criminals. Even the police seem to know this is a clear pattern. “There’s actually no use patrolling in front of the houses. They should be patrolling the back of the houses or setting up police cameras in those areas,” added Amanda. Mr Michael Ho, who has lived in the estate for more than three decades, said two men attempted to break into his house more than 30 years ago, but they were foiled by his dog and helper. “The burglars are targeting homes closer to the reservoir side. I’m a little bit worried but I’ve already installed cameras and motion sensor lights as a precaution. “I’m also buying motion sensor lights for my neighbour. She’s quite worried as she lives there with only her husband,” said Mr Ho, 78. Police are currently looking for a suspect who allegedly entered a house in Marigold Drive without permission on the night of Feb 21. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI Another neighbour, who declined to be named, said she found out about the break-in only when the police spoke to residents. “I’ve lived here for 35 years and it’s always been a very safe and peaceful neighbourhood. “I don’t have any plans to add more security because my neighbours are all so nice and friendly that I’m sure we will help each other if there’s really an emergency,” she said. Investigations into the incidents in 2024 revealed that foreign syndicates had targeted homes by running a sophisticated operation, with one group breaking into homes and leaving stolen items in forested areas for a second group to collect them later. Police subsequently stepped up deterrent measures in the affected areas, and had looked to deploy more cameras, including in the private residential estates.

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