SINGAPORE — While veteran Singaporean artist Koeh Sia Yong was away in Indonesia for nearly two months earlier in 2025, his bedroom drawers back home were emptied of more than $50,000 in valuables.
The 87-year-old returned to his two-bedroom unit at The Interlace condo in Depot Road on March 15 to find his home had been broken into.
"When I stepped into my apartment, I saw my master bedroom door, which I had locked, was open," Koeh told The Straits Times in Mandarin.
"My room was ransacked, the wardrobe drawers were pulled out, and my clothes were scattered everywhere."
The kitchen window had been prised open and the intercom unit inside his apartment removed.
He phoned his daughter, who called the police.
A police forensics team was deployed and spent several hours collecting fingerprints and other evidence from the unit. The police said investigations are ongoing.
Koeh, a second-generation Nanyang artist whose works have been exhibited across Asia, had left Singapore on Jan 20 for his annual trip to Bali. This time, however, the visit was especially meaningful — he was there to set up an art gallery.
He said he lost 10 gold coins worth more than $40,000, $3,000 in cash, and other cash collectibles.
But two new mobile phones — including a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra worth about $1,500 — were left untouched, along with a Samsung notebook on the dining table and around 200 oil paintings.
"It didn't look like the burglars had entered the second bedroom, where I kept all my paintings. The living room also looked untouched," Koeh said.
When ST visited his home on May 8, he pointed out a staircase accessible from the corridor on the seventh floor, where his unit is located.
As the staircase is near his kitchen window, Koeh suspects that his unit could have been broken into via that staircase.
"I never thought this could happen in a condo with security guards," said Koeh.
He added that since he moved into the condo in 2014, he had always "felt very safe" living there.
The managing agent of the 1,040-unit Interlace declined comment as the case is under investigation.
Koeh's partner, who wanted to be known only as Annie, said Koeh's son-in-law had stopped by at the end of February to drop off some books at their home, but he did not notice anything amiss.
Koeh believes the burglary had likely happened in early March.
Before leaving for Bali, Koeh had taken his gold coins out to check on their value, as he was planning to sell them to fund eye surgery originally scheduled for May 6, said Annie.
They had travelled to Bali together, but Koeh returned to Singapore first. Annie said she rushed back to Singapore after she learnt of the burglary.
"Seeing how distressed he is now, I have postponed his surgery," she added.
Lawyer Daniel Chen of law firm Lee & Lee, who specialises in litigation and disputes involving the management corporation strata title (MCST) of properties, said burglaries or thefts in condos are generally uncommon.
He said "there tends to be more cases of theft at the common property than burglary of condominium units".
The MCST's duty is "limited to appointing a reasonably competent security agency to implement security measures appropriate to the development".
Managing agents engaged by the MCST are also not responsible for ensuring the security of the condo and its residents, as they are generally not employed to undertake such functions. "The primary responsibility lies with the security agency," explained Chen.
While many residents would likely assume that security officers are responsible for keeping intruders out, in practice, it can be difficult for security officers to prevent unauthorised people from entering a condo development.
"At automated access entry points, the 'unauthorised persons' can easily follow after or 'tailgate' residents," Mr Chen said.
"And at manned entry points, the 'unauthorised persons' can say they are visiting a certain unit and are usually granted entry on that basis, because the security officer may not have the time or capacity to hold the person at the entry point until the visit is confirmed with the resident of the unit."
When it comes to surveillance cameras, access controls or patrols, the appropriate level of security should be assessed by the MCST together with the security agency, depending on the size, layout, access points, and location of the condo, he added.
For Koeh, the experience has been a sobering lesson in home security.
In the days after the break-in, he had aluminium grilles installed over his kitchen window.
"I never bought home insurance because I always thought a condo was safe," said Koeh.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
