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'Just glad I'm still alive': Woman came face-to-face with masked stranger who entered Upper Thomson home
The Upper Thomson resident said nothing was stolen from the house. Photo does not depict the affected property.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Shafiq Apandi
PUBLISHED ONFebruary 23, 2026 1:50 PM
BYLim Kewei
Upper Thomson resident X N had just returned home on Saturday (Feb 21) night when she noticed the doorknob of her ground floor room slowly rotating.
Puzzled, she thought it was the domestic helper and called out to alert them of her presence.
"As the doorknob was turning, I saw a masked man looking back at me," she recounted to AsiaOne.
The resident, who wanted to be known only by her initials, said the intruder "disappeared into darkness" after she asked who the person was and screamed for help.
"The whole house was pitch black except for my room, so the person actually knew that I was inside the room and still decided to open my door while I asked if it was the helper," she said.
She immediately called the police and waited outside with the two other people at home at that time.
The police told AsiaOne on Sunday (Feb 22) that it received a call for assistance at a residential estate along Marigold Drive at about 9.40pm on Saturday.
An individual had allegedly entered a residential home without permission and left before officers arrived.
According to The Straits Times, five Special Operations Command police vehicles were spotted along Upper Thomson Road at about 11pm.
The landed estate which X N lives borders a dense forested area of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, with the green space making visibility low at night.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Shafiq Apandi
X N told AsiaOne that she did not recognise the intruder, who wore a long sleeve top and long bottoms as well as a head covering, leaving just the eyes exposed.
The stranger had a male physique and was fair-skinned, she said, adding that nothing was stolen from the house.
"We're unsure if this was a burglary; we weren't sure whether he was armed as well. I remember screaming at the top of my lungs," said X N.
She said that a small gate of the property is not always locked, and there is a possibility the individual might have previously scoped the estate.
They plan to install CCTV cameras.
"This is a huge lesson," said X N. "I'm just glad I'm still alive, because it was a very bizarre experience of confronting the person himself."
The police said that efforts to trace the suspect are underway, and investigations are ongoing.
Members of the public with information relating to this incident are advised to contact the police at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.
Residents are advised to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious persons or activities to the police.
In August 2025, four foreigners suspected to be members of a housebreaking syndicate had escaped into the forests near the Rail Corridor in Bukit Timah after being spotted by police officers.
A search operation involving the Gurkha and Special Operations Command resulted in the arrest of two men in the nearby forested areas.
In June 2024, two Chinese nationals broke into a home along Windsor Park Road, which is close to Marigold Drive, and stole over $570,000 worth of jewellery. One of the men jumped bail, and more than $390,000 in jewellery remains missing.
Additional reporting by Sean Ler
