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Man, 28, travels to S'pore to retrieve S$500,000 worth of stolen goods & cash hidden by accomplices, gets 7 months jail
He picked up an orange Hermès Birkin bag hidden at Rail Corridor containing cash and valuables.
December 17, 2024, 12:30 PM
A Chinese national was offered 30,000 yuan (S$5,600) to come to Singapore and retrieve S$500,000 in cash and valuables stolen by two burglars from an alleged housebreak sometime in July 2024.
He accepted the offer, knowing the items had been stolen, and arrived in Singapore on Jul. 27.
Then, he went to a forested area at the Rail Corridor to retrieve an orange Hermès Birkin bag worth around S$45,000 that contained cash in various currencies, and three luxury watches.
Wu Jinxing, 28, was arrested after heading to Bukit Sedap Road to pick up more stolen goods hidden in bushes there. He was then charged on Jul. 29, 2024.
On Dec. 16, 2024, Wu pled guilty to one count of handling the benefits of criminal conduct and was sentenced to seven months in prison, The Straits Times reported.
Wu Jinxing, a food deliveryman from Shenzhen, China who earns about 200 yuan a day, is believed to be a part of a syndicate operated by foreigners related to housebreaking.
Loot hidden at Rail Corridor
The two burglars, Chinese nationals Wu Jianxin, 30, and Huang Ziqian, 35, are still at large, court documents said.
The two men had been acquaintances for 12 years.
On Jul. 27, 2024, at 2:30 am, Wu Jianxin instructed the accused to fly to Singapore immediately for a one-day trip to collect one handbag and one watch on his behalf.
Despite knowing the goods were illegally obtained, Wu Jinxing accepted the offer and arrived in Singapore on Jul. 27, 2024.
Wu Jinxing booked a flight departing from Shenzhen, China, to Singapore on the same morning.
Upon arriving in Singapore, he then followed the instructions of Wu Jianxin to take a taxi to Chinatown and purchase a backpack.
At approximately 4:55 pm, he took the train to Buona Vista MRT station and walked down a bicycle route along the Rail Corridor.
Guided via video call by Wu Jianxin, Wu Jinxing climbed up a slope through thick vegetation to search for a spot underneath a tree.
He then found an orange Hermès Birkin handbag hidden beneath some pipes and leaves.
The man later checked into a hotel where, supervised by Wu Jianxin over video call, he emptied the contents of the Hermès bag. The items in the bag included money in various currencies and three luxury watches.
Arrested near Bukit Sedap Road
At approximately 8pm, under the directions of Wu Jianxin, Wu Jinxing took a taxi to a supermarket located near 17 Bukit Sedap Road and 19 Bukit Sedap Road.
Wu then walked to the perimeter wall behind 17 Bukit Sedap Road.
Police officers had previously discovered stolen items hidden in the bushes behind 17 Bukit Sedap Road and 19 Bukit Sedap Road, and were waiting for the perpetrators to retrieve these items.
These items included 12 Hermès handbags, jewellery and cash.
When Wu arrived at the perimeter wall behind 17 Bukit Sedap Road, he was arrested by police officers.
He was subsequently brought back to the hotel where he was found in possession of the stolen goods he had retrieved from the Rail Corridor.
Stolen goods
According to court documents, these were the stolen goods hidden at the Rail Corridor, which were valued at S$497,696.46:
- One orange Hermès Birkin handbag valued at S$45,000
- One Gucci dust bag of unknown value
- Cash amounting to S$68,861 in cash
- 122,056 Chinese Yuan (S$22,601.84) in cash
- 35,571 Malaysian Ringgits (S$10,253.92) in cash
- 49,490 Philippine Pesos (S$1,136.60) in cash
- 1,010 Thai Baht (S$37.74) in cash
- 95,000 Cambodian Riel ( S$31.16) in cash
- 2,105,000 Indonesian Rupiah (S$173.34) in cash
- 335 New Zealand Dollars (S$264.94) in cash
- 25 Euros (S$36.48) in cash
- 360 Swiss Francs (S$546.44) in cash
- 3,338 US Dollars (S$4,481.60) in cash
- 250 Macau Patacas (S$41.83) in cash
- 1,690,000 Vietnamese Dong (S$89.63) in cash
- 32,600 Brunei Dollars (S$32,628.39) in cash
- 7,026,000 South Korean Won (S$6511.55) in cash
- One MB&F Horological Machine 1 Mirage watch, valued at about S$165,000
- One Hublot Spirit of Big Bang King Gold Jewellery watch, valued at about S$110,000
- One Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Reveil watch, valued at about S$30,000
Top photos by Khine Zin Htet
