SINGAPORE, July 11 — A Chinese man visiting Singapore for the first time saw a wealthy city full of opportunity — but his plan to cash in by raiding luxury homes quickly turned into a court case.

Huang Xiaozong, 41, had only just arrived in Singapore when he began looking for richer neighbourhoods to target, eventually breaking into homes in Sentosa and Serangoon Gardens and stealing jewellery worth more than S$105,000 (RM348,000), The Straits Times reported today.

“I felt Singapore was nice and rich, and I wanted to earn money,” Huang was quoted as saying in court documents.

Huang pled guilty on July 10 to two counts of housebreaking and will be sentenced on August 14.

The court heard Huang arrived in Singapore on December 5 last year and checked into a hotel in Little India before taking a trip to Sentosa the next day.

While walking around the island, he spotted a luxury hotel suite that appeared empty and entered through a rear balcony door before forcing open a sliding door.

His haul included a Chanel watch worth S$30,000 (RM99,400), five rings valued at S$25,000 (RM82,800) and a gold necklace worth S$3,000 (RM9,900), which he took back to his hotel.

The theft was discovered two days later when a housekeeper found footprints inside the suite and noticed the missing items.

But Huang was not done, and on December 7 he headed to Serangoon Gardens, where he picked a house that appeared vacant because its lights were switched off.

He climbed over the gate and stole more than S$47,000 (RM155,800) worth of jewellery, including rings, gold necklaces, a diamond necklace, diamond earrings and wedding rings.

Later that evening, Huang tried his luck at another house but fled after a domestic helper spotted him and asked what he was doing.

The homeowner returned home and alerted police, who traced Huang to his hotel and arrested him on December 8.

The combined value of the stolen items was estimated at S$105,000 (RM348,000).