Over $50k in gold coins, cash stolen from veteran artist's home

Koeh Sia Yong returns from Indonesia trip to find Depot Road condo unit broken into

- Joyce Lim

While veteran Singaporean artist Koeh Sia Yong was away in Indonesia for nearly two months earlier in 2025, his bedroom drawers back home were emptied of more than $50,000 in valuables.

The 87-year-old returned to his two-bedroom unit at The Interlace condo in Depot Road on March 15 to find his home had been broken into.

"When I stepped into my apartment, I saw my master bedroom door, which I had locked, was open," Mr Koeh told The Straits Times in Mandarin.

"My room was ransacked, the wardrobe drawers were pulled out, and my clothes were scattered everywhere."

The kitchen window had been prised open and the intercom unit inside his apartment removed.

He phoned his daughter, who called the police.

A police forensics team was deployed and spent several hours collecting fingerprints and other evidence from the unit. The police said investigations are ongoing.

Mr Koeh, a second-generation Nanyang artist whose works have been exhibited across Asia, had left Singapore on Jan 20 for his annual trip to Bali. This time, however, the visit was especially meaningful — he was there to set up an art gallery.

He said he lost 10 gold coins worth more than $40,000, $3,000 in cash, and other cash collectibles.

But two new mobile phones — including a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra worth about $1,500 — were left untouched, along with a Samsung notebook on the dining table and around 200 oil paintings.