By Tan Su Vien, newsroom intern

WHEN Ms Fiona Bartholomeusz received a police alert a few days before Chinese New Year about a spate of thefts in the area, she made a mental note to install a security system.

Then she went overseas for the holidays and returned to find her advertising firm's Duxton Hill office broken into.

Her staff had arrived at work last Wednesday morning to find eight iMac computers missing.

Two digital cameras, two BlackBerries and an iPod were also gone.

The office next door was also burgled.

It happened a few days after the police issued a letter to companies there, advising them to step up their security.

The letter, dated 12 Jan, warned of a spate in break-ins in the vicinity of Tanjong Pagar, Telok Ayer and Chinatown.

It noted that housebreakers had forcefully entered the premises' and stolen items such as cash, liquor and electronic goods.

In this case, both offices, at 25 and 26 Duxton Hill, were closed for the Chinese New Year holidays.

Ms Bartholomeusz, managing director of Formul8, said she was surprised that the burglars had struck so fast.

She said: 'The pantry window on the second floor and the back door on the first floor office had been prised open.'

Sensing that the office next door might also have been broken into, she notified the landlord who owns both the properties.

Mr Jimmy Jigmo, IT manager for telecommunications company Teligent Private Limited, also said he was shocked to find his office burgled.

The 29-year-old received a call from his landlord and found three HP computers gone.

There were no signs of forced entry to hisoffice.

Mr Jigmo also filed a report with the police on that day.

Ms Bartholomeusz and Mr Jigmo think the burglars might have entered Teligent through a glass panel door linking the two offices.

Said Ms Bartholomeusz: 'The burglars took pains to disconnect the wires of our iMacs.

'My staff even found some stickers that they had pasted on their iMacs left behind.'

The two companies are not sure when the burglary took place, but said it could have been any time during the Chinese New Year long weekend, from Saturday 24 Jan to Tuesday 27 Jan.

Ms Bartholomeusz said: 'When I left the office on Friday, all the doors and windows were locked and secured.

'I think the burglars specifically timed a break-in over the Chinese New Year period.

'It is a long holiday and it takes longer for the office to discover a break-in.'

She said she had felt a sense of foreboding when she saw the alert from the police.

'But things like that (installing a security system) takes time.'

Too late

Mr Jigmo agreed. He said: 'We saw the letter on 22 Jan and we were actually looking into getting an alarm system. But our plans were too late to stop the burglary.'

Ms Bartholomeusz said it would cost $40,000 to $50,000 to replace the stolen property.

Thankfully, these losses will be covered by Formul8's insurance company.

Mr Jigmo said that each stolen PC cost at least $2,000.

When contacted, the landlord of both offices declined comment.