One of the men then told them in Mandarin: "We lost a lot of money on gambling. We have no choice but to get (money) from you."
http://www.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20100924-238968.html
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IT READ like the script of an action thriller.
Six men posing as workers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) told the home owner they needed to fog her semi-detached house after they received complaints of mosquitoes in the area.
Once inside, the men, who were wearing protective masks, whipped out their knives and tied up the occupants.
They then drilled open the two safes in the house, even going to the extent of covering the safes with wet blankets to muffle the noise.
The daring heist took place in the day at a three-storey semi-detached house off Bukit Batok Road on Wednesday.
The home owner, her nine-year-old daughter and the family's maid managed to free themselves after the men left.
The gang made away with more than $100,000 in cash.
When The New Paper visited the house yesterday afternoon, the owner's elder daughter came to the door and said that her mother was not in. The family's Filipino maid, 33, was seen in the living room.
Recalling the incident, the girl, a Primary 3 student, said that her mother had gone to fetch her from school that day. They arrived home at about 1pm.
Her mother parked her Toyota Estima outside the house and they were opening the gate when a man went up to her mother.
The New Paper understands that the man said he was an NEA officer and that he needed to inspect the house because of complaints of the presence of mosquitoes.
The mother, a 42-year-old housewife, let him in.
Five other men, who were wearing different coloured T-shirts and carrying fumigation equipment, then approached and followed him into the premises.
When they were inside, one of the men asked the mother how many people were in.
She suspected something was amiss and lied that her husband was sleeping in a bedroom on the third storey.
Two of the men then forced her to go upstairs with them to wake her husband.
But when they realised she was lying, they whipped out their knives. They then forced her into a room.
Not long after, the girl and the maid,who were in the living room, were also made to join the woman in the same room.
To avoid raising the suspicions of neighbours, the men turned up the volume of the radio in the house.
Recalled the girl: "Before I went upstairs, I saw one of the men fogging the porch.
"They were all 'covered up' and only their eyes could be seen."
The men tied the trio's hands and legs with cable ties, taped their mouths with masking tapes and ordered them to keep quiet.
They were also told to close their eyes.
One of the men then told them in Mandarin: "We lost a lot of money on gambling. We have no choice but to get (money) from you."
While one of the men stayed to keep an eye on the trio, the rest searched the house for valuables. They found the two safes, which were kept separately on the first and third storey.
The men were well-prepared and had electric drills with them, which they used to break open the safes. The girl added that only one of the men spoke English.
She said that her father, a businessman, had gone on a working trip to China two days before the incident.
Her seven-year-old sister was in school when the brazen robbery took place, she said.
The trio's ordeal finally ended when they heard the sound of their main gate shutting.
By then, it was more than two hours later.
The girl showing the marks left by the cable ties used to bind her, her mother and their domestic helper.
Once they were sure that the men had left, the mother managed to make her way to the rooftop garden to get a pair of gardening scissors, which she used to cut herself free.
She then untied her daughter and her maid and called the police.
A police spokesman confirmed that they received a call at about 3.20pm informing them of the incident.
The case has been classified as armed robbery and investigations are ongoing. No arrests have been made.
Yesterday, the girl showed The New Paper the red marks on her left wrist and said: "They tied me up very tightly and it was painful.
"But I was not scared and I did not cry. My mother and kakak were with me," she said, using the Malay term for "older sister" to refer to the maid.
The girl added that her mother has told her father of the robbery and the latter would "be back soon".
The two broken safes were left at the porch, next to the family's other car, a silver Mercedes.
The mother, who returned home at about 5pm yesterday, would only say that the men wanted only money and did not hurt them.
http://www.asiaone.com/News/The+New+Paper/Story/A1Story20100924-238968.html
-------------------------------------------
IT READ like the script of an action thriller.
Six men posing as workers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) told the home owner they needed to fog her semi-detached house after they received complaints of mosquitoes in the area.
Once inside, the men, who were wearing protective masks, whipped out their knives and tied up the occupants.
They then drilled open the two safes in the house, even going to the extent of covering the safes with wet blankets to muffle the noise.
The daring heist took place in the day at a three-storey semi-detached house off Bukit Batok Road on Wednesday.
The home owner, her nine-year-old daughter and the family's maid managed to free themselves after the men left.
The gang made away with more than $100,000 in cash.
When The New Paper visited the house yesterday afternoon, the owner's elder daughter came to the door and said that her mother was not in. The family's Filipino maid, 33, was seen in the living room.
Recalling the incident, the girl, a Primary 3 student, said that her mother had gone to fetch her from school that day. They arrived home at about 1pm.
Her mother parked her Toyota Estima outside the house and they were opening the gate when a man went up to her mother.
The New Paper understands that the man said he was an NEA officer and that he needed to inspect the house because of complaints of the presence of mosquitoes.
The mother, a 42-year-old housewife, let him in.
Five other men, who were wearing different coloured T-shirts and carrying fumigation equipment, then approached and followed him into the premises.
When they were inside, one of the men asked the mother how many people were in.
She suspected something was amiss and lied that her husband was sleeping in a bedroom on the third storey.
Two of the men then forced her to go upstairs with them to wake her husband.
But when they realised she was lying, they whipped out their knives. They then forced her into a room.
Not long after, the girl and the maid,who were in the living room, were also made to join the woman in the same room.
To avoid raising the suspicions of neighbours, the men turned up the volume of the radio in the house.
Recalled the girl: "Before I went upstairs, I saw one of the men fogging the porch.
"They were all 'covered up' and only their eyes could be seen."
The men tied the trio's hands and legs with cable ties, taped their mouths with masking tapes and ordered them to keep quiet.
They were also told to close their eyes.
One of the men then told them in Mandarin: "We lost a lot of money on gambling. We have no choice but to get (money) from you."
While one of the men stayed to keep an eye on the trio, the rest searched the house for valuables. They found the two safes, which were kept separately on the first and third storey.
The men were well-prepared and had electric drills with them, which they used to break open the safes. The girl added that only one of the men spoke English.
She said that her father, a businessman, had gone on a working trip to China two days before the incident.
Her seven-year-old sister was in school when the brazen robbery took place, she said.
The trio's ordeal finally ended when they heard the sound of their main gate shutting.
By then, it was more than two hours later.
The girl showing the marks left by the cable ties used to bind her, her mother and their domestic helper.
Once they were sure that the men had left, the mother managed to make her way to the rooftop garden to get a pair of gardening scissors, which she used to cut herself free.
She then untied her daughter and her maid and called the police.
A police spokesman confirmed that they received a call at about 3.20pm informing them of the incident.
The case has been classified as armed robbery and investigations are ongoing. No arrests have been made.
Yesterday, the girl showed The New Paper the red marks on her left wrist and said: "They tied me up very tightly and it was painful.
"But I was not scared and I did not cry. My mother and kakak were with me," she said, using the Malay term for "older sister" to refer to the maid.
The girl added that her mother has told her father of the robbery and the latter would "be back soon".
The two broken safes were left at the porch, next to the family's other car, a silver Mercedes.
The mother, who returned home at about 5pm yesterday, would only say that the men wanted only money and did not hurt them.
