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SINGAPORE: A man repeatedly trespassed into a condominium in the Redhill area by tailgating residents or slipping in when the gate was unlocked, in order to steal bicycles.<\/p>\n
He filched four bicycles worth almost S$5,000 (US$3,960) in total and sold them to a single buyer on online marketplace Carousell for S$900.<\/p>\n
Aloysius Loh Sijing, 27, pleaded guilty on Thursday (Feb 26) to one count of criminal trespass and two counts of theft, with another two charges to be taken into consideration.<\/p>\n
The court heard that Loh entered Ascentia Sky Condominium through its side gate on Alexandra Road on the night of Sep 15, 2024.<\/p>\n
He was scouting for bicycles that he intended to steal and sell for profit.<\/p>\n
Loh also went to the public car park at Alexis Condominium to look for bicycles and later used the condo as a base to store the stolen bicycles. He did not live at either condo.<\/p>\n
At about 12.30pm on Sep 16, 2024, Loh entered Ascentia Sky condo through the side gate. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage captured him leaving 30 minutes later with an unlocked bicycle worth S$1,550.<\/p>\n
He rode the bicycle to the public car park of Alexis Condominium, about a six-minute drive away, according to Google Maps. He left the stolen bicycle there and went back to Ascentia Sky condo on his skateboard.<\/p>\n
Loh stole another three bicycles that day. One bicycle, worth S$1,000, had a child seat and a lock near its rear.<\/p>\n
However, as the lock did not secure the wheel and was already set to the correct password, Loh was able to open it.<\/p>\n
He threw it away and stole the bicycle, along with another two unlocked bicycles worth S$1,119 and S$1,299.<\/p>\n
After taking the bikes to Alexis condo, Loh took pictures of the four bicycles and listed them on Carousell. He had previously sold bicycles via his Carousell account.<\/p>\n
At about 4pm that same day, a buyer expressed interest on Carousell for the four bikes before heading to Redhill to collect them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n CCTV footage from Alexis condo showed Loh and the unidentified buyer moving the four bicycles through the public car park at about 4.45pm to a lorry parked along the main road.<\/p>\n Loh earned S$900 in total from the sale of the four stolen bikes. The bicycles were not recovered, but Loh made full voluntary restitution to the victims.<\/p>\n The prosecution is seeking between three months and three weeks’ jail and four months and four weeks’ jail for Loh.<\/p>\n Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Ng said Loh committed trespass with an intent to commit theft, and did so not once but thrice in the span of about two hours.<\/p>\n He had also tested his modus operandi the night before by trespassing into the condo to look for bikes to steal, she said.<\/p>\n Ms Ng noted that Loh had experience selling bicycles and would likely have known which ones would fetch the most money.<\/p>\n However, she took into account his clean record and voluntary restitution.<\/p>\n Loh was represented by Mr Cory Wong, Mr Josephus Tan and Mr Silas Siew from Invictus Law.<\/p>\n The judge rejected their request for community-based sentencing.<\/p>\n The case was adjourned for further mitigation on what the appropriate jail term would be.<\/p>\n Loh will return to court for mitigation and sentencing in March.<\/p>\n For theft, he can be jailed for up to three years, fined, or both.<\/p>\n For criminal trespass, he can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both. As the charge involves multiple incidents, he can be given up to double the maximum penalties.<\/p>\n The police said in an advisory in September 2025 that bicycles are common targets by thieves, advising members of the public to keep them in their homes or locked premises.<\/p>\n Police advised cyclists to secure their bicycles to permanent structures in high-traffic areas with CCTV coverage, and to use a quality lock for the bicycle and its removable parts, even if leaving them unattended briefly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSENTENCING ARGUMENTS<\/h2>\n