Trio who planned burglaries of landed homes in Singapore, stealing S$644,700, gets jail

The men made away with S$644,700 in valuables from the first house they burgled but stole nothing from the second after an elderly man spotted them and made one of them slip on water.

Police officers escorting Garcia Iglesias Hector Daniel (left) and Garces Murillo Mateo Andres to the crime scene on May 14, 2025. (Photos: CNA/Lauren Chian)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

SINGAPORE: Three foreign men who planned burglaries in Singapore targeting private estates and made away with valuables worth S$644,700 (US$505,000) were jailed on Thursday (Oct 22).

Hernando Giraldo Franco, a 62-year-old Spanish-Colombian man, was sentenced to six years and eight months' jail.

Garcia Iglesias Hector Daniel, a 53-year-old Mexican man, and 49-year-old Mexican-Colombian national Garces Murillo Mateo Andres each received seven years and four months' jail.

All three pleaded guilty to several charges, including theft, housebreaking and concealment of criminal benefits.

The three men were friends who arrived in Singapore for the first time in April or May 2025, the court heard.

While in Singapore, they devised a plan to burglarise landed homes by searching for private residential estates.

Hernando used a car he had rented for sightseeing to take his accomplices to a hardware store, where they bought a screwdriver and electric grinder for the break-ins.

Garcia and Garces bought caps, gloves, masks and black jackets to conceal their identities.

When night fell, Hernando drove Garcia and Garces around private estates to look for houses with no lights or signs of human activity.

Hernando was to be the lookout and getaway driver while the other two men carried out the break-ins.

Shortly before 9.30pm on May 9, 2025, the trio went to Dunearn Close and picked a house with no lights on.

While Hernando waited outside in the parked car, Garcia and Garces climbed over a wall into the compound and entered the house through a window.

They ransacked the master bedroom and filled a bag with stolen items, but found nothing worth stealing in two other rooms.

Garcia and Garces then left the house and returned to Hernando's car before heading to a hotel.

In total, they stole items worth about S$644,700, including gold coins, jewellery, diamond rings and earrings, luxury watches and cash, from the Dunearn Close house.

The following night on May 10, 2025, they went to Eng Neo Avenue and picked a target.

However, Garcia and Graces fled before they could enter the house as they heard noises from within the compound.

They later returned and entered the house through an open sliding door on the ground floor.

The two men went to a dressing room on the second floor where they attempted to break open a safe with a screwdriver but failed.

They did not manage to find anything valuable to steal.

Around 10pm, an elderly man in the house noticed Garces standing near a staircase on the second floor and shouted at him.

Garces banged on the door of the dressing room to alert Garcia before making a run for it.

Garcia rushed out of the room and tried to flee, but the elderly man poured water from a kettle he was holding onto the floor to stop Garcia.

Garcia slipped and fell but managed to escape through the same sliding door.

Hernando picked the two men up and they went back to the hotel after throwing the screwdriver and clothing used in the burglary into a forested area.

The trio was arrested near their hotel on May 11, 2025, and cash and two handbags that had been stolen from the Dunearn Close house were recovered.

All the stolen items were recovered and the men were remanded.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Leong Kit Yu sought between nine and 11 years' jail for Hernando and Garces. He asked for between 10 and 12 years' jail for Garcia.

He pointed to the value of the items stolen, the damage caused to the safes and the planning and premeditation involved in the burglaries.

Hernando was represented by Mr Azri Imran Tan from Pro Bono SG, who sought a jail term of not more than six-and-a-half years.

Ms Tan Jun Yin and Mr Thangavelu sought five years and four months for Garces, while Ms Seraphine Loh asked for five years and nine months for Garcia.

In sentencing, District Judge Ong Luan Tze said this was quite an egregious case of housebreaking committed against residential properties at night.

There was extensive ransacking and damage as a result, she said.

Judge Ong said the fact that most of the property stolen was eventually recovered cannot really be credited to the trio.

She added that there was no reason to distinguish Hernando's culpability just because he was not the one who actually broke into the house.

As a lookout and getaway driver, he played an equally important role in the whole plan, said the judge.

For housebreaking to commit theft, they could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

两名男子从他们入室盗窃的第一户人家偷走了价值 644,700 新元的贵重物品，但在第二户人家中却一无所获，因为一位老人发现了他们，并让其中一人滑倒在水面上。

2025年5月14日，警员押送加西亚·伊格莱西亚斯·赫克托·丹尼尔（左）和加尔塞斯·穆里略·马特奥·安德烈斯前往犯罪现场。（图片：CNA/Lauren Chian）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：三名外国男子策划在新加坡入室盗窃，目标是私人住宅，并盗走了价值 644,700 新元（505,000 美元）的财物，于周四（10 月 22 日）被判入狱。

62岁的西班牙裔哥伦比亚男子埃尔南多·吉拉尔多·弗朗哥被判处六年零八个月监禁。

53 岁的墨西哥男子加西亚·伊格莱西亚斯·赫克托·丹尼尔和 49 岁的墨西哥-哥伦比亚公民加塞斯·穆里略·马特奥·安德烈斯分别被判处 7 年零 4 个月监禁。

三人均对多项指控认罪，包括盗窃、入室盗窃和隐瞒犯罪所得。

法庭获悉，这三名男子是朋友，于 2025 年 4 月或 5 月首次抵达新加坡。

在新加坡期间，他们制定了一个入室盗窃计划，目标是私人住宅区。

埃尔南多用他租来观光的汽车载着他的同伙去了一家五金店，在那里他们买了一把螺丝刀和一台电动砂轮机，用于入室盗窃。

加西亚和加尔塞斯购买了帽子、手套、口罩和黑色夹克来掩盖自己的身份。

夜幕降临后，埃尔南多开车带着加西亚和加尔塞斯在私人庄园里转悠，寻找没有灯光或人类活动迹象的房屋。

埃尔南多负责放哨和开车接应，而另外两人则负责实施入室盗窃。

2025 年 5 月 9 日晚上 9 点 30 分前不久，三人来到 Dunearn Close，挑选了一栋没有开灯的房子。

当埃尔南多在外面停着的车里等候时，加西亚和加尔塞斯翻过围墙进入院子，从窗户进入了房子。

他们洗劫了主卧室，把偷来的东西装满了一袋，但在另外两个房间里却没找到任何值得偷的东西。

随后，加西亚和加尔塞斯离开了房子，回到埃尔南多的车上，然后前往一家酒店。

他们总共从 Dunearn Close 的房子里偷走了价值约 644,700 新元的物品，包括金币、珠宝、钻石戒指和耳环、名表和现金。

第二天晚上，也就是 2025 年 5 月 10 日，他们来到英尼奥大道，选定了一个目标。

然而，加西亚和格雷斯还没来得及进入房子，就听到院子里传来动静，于是逃走了。

他们后来返回，从一楼敞开的推拉门进入了房子。

两名男子来到二楼的更衣室，试图用螺丝刀撬开保险箱，但失败了。

他们没能找到任何值钱的东西可以偷。

晚上 10 点左右，屋里的一位老人注意到加尔塞斯站在二楼楼梯附近，便朝他喊叫。

加尔塞斯猛敲更衣室的门，提醒加西亚，然后拔腿就跑。

加西亚冲出房间，试图逃跑，但老人把手中拿着的水壶里的水倒在地上，阻止了加西亚。

加西亚滑倒了，但设法从同一扇滑动门逃了出来。

埃尔南多接上了这两个人，他们把作案用的螺丝刀和衣服扔进了树林里，然后一起回到了酒店。

2025年5月11日，三人在其酒店附近被捕，警方追回了从邓尼恩街住宅偷来的现金和两个手提包。

所有被盗物品均已追回，涉案人员已被还押候审。

副检察官梁杰宇要求判处埃尔南多和加尔塞斯九至十一年监禁，并要求判处加西亚十年至十二年监禁。

他指出被盗物品的价值、保险箱遭受的损坏以及盗窃案涉及的计划和预谋。

Hernando 的代理律师是来自 Pro Bono SG 的 Azri Imran Tan 先生，他请求判处不超过六年半的监禁。

Tan Jun Yin 女士和 Thangavelu 先生要求判处 Garces 五年零四个月的监禁，而 Seraphine Loh 女士则要求判处 Garcia 五年零九个月的监禁。

在宣判时，地方法官王銮子表示，这是一起性质极其恶劣的夜间入室盗窃案，受害者是居民。

她说，结果造成了大范围的洗劫和破坏。

王法官表示，大部分被盗财物最终被追回，并不能真正归功于这三人。

她补充说，没有理由仅仅因为埃尔南多不是实际闯入房屋的人就区别对待他的罪责。

法官说，作为瞭望员和接应司机，他在整个计划中扮演了同样重要的角色。

入室盗窃罪最高可判处 10 年监禁并处罚款。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。