HE was all excited about his new three-room flat in Jurong West.

So when he got the keys to it, garment businessman Mr Ng went there for a quick recce.

He was surprised when he saw his new flat littered with tissue paper.

But he shrugged it off, thinking that the tissue paper could have been left there by contractors.

But when Mr Ng visited his new flat again on Sunday at about 6pm, he opened his door to find a man inside, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The stranger appeared to be a foreigner in his 30s, and was walking from the living room into the kitchen.

The floor of the flat and the kitchen was also littered with used tissue paper.

A cardboard carton covered one corner of the living room floor.

Mr Ng, who received the keys to his flat about a week ago, asked the man why he was in the flat.

The response: He was a cleaner and that he was there to clean up some rubbish following a complaint.

Suspicious, Mr Ng asked for his company name and telephone number, but the man couldn't provide any information.

The two of them stood at the doorway and spoke for about 15 minutes.

When the man revealed that another male friend was also in the flat, Mr Ng said he wanted to call the police.

But then came an even bigger surprise - instead of another man, Mr Ng spotted a woman walking around the flat.

Said Mr Ng: 'The man then kept begging me not to call the police, but I refused.

'He got on his knees to beg me to let him and his girlfriend go.

'The woman was also in tears and kept pleading in English, 'Brother, brother, I beg you'.'

Mr Ng ignored their pleas and called the police.

When the police arrived, the man confessed that he is a construction worker and that his girlfriend is a maid working here.

The couple were arrested.

Said Mr Ng: 'I'm the first owner and I haven't even moved in and this has to happen.

'This is ridiculous.'

Mr Ng said he had gone to the Housing Board to collect his keys a week ago.

He claimed he had found a key missing for the main door, but didn't pursue the matter.

SAME KEY

He added: 'I then discovered that the key the worker had was the same as mine.

'A neighbour said that this man was part of the crew renovating the place and that's how he got the key.'

Mr Ng believes this is not the first time the couple has used his flat.

Added Mr Ng: 'Luckily, I caught the couple before they had the time to do some hanky-panky.

'I believe they've been to my place a few times before.'

The police confirmed the incident and said that a man and woman have been arrested.

It said investigations are still ongoing.

This article was first published by The New Paper on Jan 15, 2008.