Stolen...

Yesterday (24 Feb, Sunday) was really a bad day for me. My sling bag was stolen at MacDonald's @ Toa Payoh HDB Hub.It contained my handphone(affectionately known to me as阿紫), Ozozo wallet given as a birthday gift by my Zhupu friends (containing IC, $$, ATM card, etc), MP3 given by my sis & other stuff.

I put my bag on the chair beside me, and I never left my seat at all. The scum just took it right under the very eye of me & my 2 other friends (Dashou and Missy) who sat opposite me! I didn't realise it was gone until when I wanted to look for something from my bag. They were downright atrocious.

So, we went to make a police report. The police officer told us this was not an isolated case. Someone else has reported a similar case happening at Ya Kun Kaya Toast on the same day, and hence, it was obviously done by a crime syndicate in Toa Payoh. The floor manager at MacDonald's also told us earlier that they had another customer whose handbag was stolen too a few weeks ago.

The story did not end here. The police officer suggested us to search for my phone at the nearby secondhand mobile stores in TPY central. So, after we made the police report, we went to look around. Good thing is that my阿紫was an old model, Panasonic X66, which most store owners say nobody trades in or buy it anymore, aka valueless. Some even laughed out loud when we say we were looking for this model (FYI, we were advised by the police officer not to mention it was a stolen phone, in case we alerted the syndicate, or maybe the shopowner themselves are part of the syndicate).

Then, we approached a stall called Inbox International (diagonally opposite KFC), and I saw a X66 in the display showcase. We asked the stallowner to let us have a look. There were a few deliberate scratch marks by the left side of the front cover. When I opened the clamshell cover, I recognised it's my 阿紫immediately cos there was a little white dot on top of the circular dial, which I fondly remembered my phone has after it was scratched by me once accidentally. I asked the stallowner how long has the previous "owner" (of course not!) used this, and he replied that he said it was only a year(No!!) and it was in well-kept condition (by me, of course). Then, my friend asked when was this HP traded in, and the stallowner said it was just 1.5hrs ago. That was about the time when I lost my bag!

Then we left the stall (Tsk! We shouldn't have...) and call the police officer. He told us to wait at KFC 1st until they arrive. It was nearly 1/2 hr later when 2 police officers came & we approach them. They went to confront the stall 1st, then the police officer told me to go over to the stall. When I went to the stall, my 阿紫was no longer in the showcase anymore. The stallowner claimed that the Malay guy who sold him the HP came back, paid $40 to get it back just 10 mins ago.

What?! Either the scum was actually nearby looking out to see if anyone was searching for it and saw us there; or else the stallowner was lying. There was nothing else for the police officers to do except taking down the stallowner's statement. He gave the description of the guy as young, spiky hair, wearing white T-shirt & green camouflage 3-quarter pants.

Later, when me & my friends were continuing to look around for clues, we spotted a suspicious-looking guy with a white cap who happens to fit the description. Dashou & Missy trailed this guy while I ran back to the police officers to tell them we spotted this guy. I asked the owner did the guy wear a cap & have dyed hair? He said yes, but this time he said his hair was spiking out (huh? tot he said spiky hair?) at the neckline like mine. Anyway, I asked if the police officer could come with me to trail this guy, but they said they need to wait for their investigating officer's further instructions. So till then, he told us to follow the guy, but dun approach him until the investigating officer comes.

So we 3 civilians have no choice but to double-up as "detectives" (??) and we trailed the guy like those in typical dramas. He stopped by some mobile stalls (making it even more suspicious) & later bought stuff at a shop selling beauty pdts/toiletries. But when he walked into a back alley, me & Dashou hesitated, fearing he might be waiting for us at the corner, but given that there are 2 of us, we slowly peeked out. The guy unchained his bicycle and rode off from Blk 177, so we can do nothing about it anymore. :(

We 3 rejoined, then met up with the 2 police officers and told them what happened & which direction the guy took off. Again, there was nothing we can do except heading back to the police station to take a further statement.

I'm glad that Dashou & Missy were with me through this ordeal. They tried v hard to cheer me up, help me curse the thieves, and even brought me to my favourite SS for dinner. Really apologetic to Dashou, cos it was her birthday actually, and all the fun & joy we had of KTVing in the morning had to be dampened by this incident. Also, gomenasai to Missy too, cos she had a bad day at work the day before & was still recovering from her illness. Yet, she has to run here & there with me, allow me to "vent my anger" on her, and even paid for my dinner & H2O. Arigato gozaimasu!! *kneel & bow X 10*

When I came home, I was expecting a good lashing from my family. But they din scold me too badly. In fact, only Father scolded me for bringing my IC out, cos my family usually don't bring our ICs when we go out. Mother & Brother were gentler, seeing the tears in my eyes, they said it was inevitable for the loss since the syndicate had planned to steal. Mother even prepared the traditional "Muat4 Cao3"(type of herb for cleansing off ill luck) bath for me.

Ok, that's all for my sad & painful story. A few morals of the story:

1) Always keep your belongings on you. Never put on chair next to you. I'm always a careful person, so I seldom have my bag away from me like this, but look what happened when I did so once... ; {

2) Once you find your bag stolen, first thing to do is to suspend all your ATM cards & HP line. Report to police straightaway. Call your family too & tell them to change lock immediately if your housekeys & IC are in the bag. (my mum told me there was a suspicious-looking lady loitering outside our house in the evening. Dunno if it is related though...)

3) Record your handphone's IMEI no. At least it's a lead for the police. Luckily I did write it down. Press *#06#  and write down the 15-digit number & leave it at home for times like this. Also, note down your Cashcard & Ezlink card serial no. too.

4) Good suggestion by police to search the secondhand mobile shops nearby. Also, note the characteristics of your HP, eg. scratches etc. If you spotted your lost phone in a shop, don't leave the shop. My Brother told me actually we should have bought my phone back from the stallowner first & ask for receipt (as proof). Then, when police come, we explain to them. That way, at least I will still get my handphone back.

Though my loss isn't great as the stuff aren't really very expensive, they are of great sentimental value to me. It's really painful for me to have them all gone like this (my tears are rolling down as I'm typing this...). Especially my阿紫, cos I nearly had it back. It was once back in my hands, only later to lose it again... :_{

I really pray hard the police will nab the syndicate, and my lost stuff are all returned eventually. Though chances aren't high, I really hope miracles happen...