‘Grateful’: Singapore man who lost and found bag containing $4.7k thanks Malaysian immigration officers
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Singaporean Tan Zheng Guang (centre) with the immigration officers who helped return his bag.
PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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JOHOR BAHRU – When Singaporean interior designer Tan Zheng Guang lost his bag containing foreign currencies worth RM15,000 (S$4,700), he had a funny feeling that it was not gone for good.
Mr Tan and his wife arrived in Johor on Nov 3 to attend a friend’s wedding. On their way back, the 36-year-old lost his bag.
Little did he realise that two Malaysian immigration officers at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex had picked up the bag and gone out of their way to contact him via the Singapore Consulate in Johor Bahru.
Mr Tan and his wife had stayed in Johor Bahru for three days, and were returning to Singapore at around midnight at the end of their trip.
“I did not realise that the bag had dropped when the car door was opened during inspection at the checkpoint.
“We were tired and realised the bag was missing, with all my documents, bank cards and cash, only when we arrived home,” he said, adding that they even called the hotel to check if he had left the bag behind.
“It was a pleasant surprise when I got a call from our Consulate-General’s Office that Malaysian Immigration found my bag.
“Initially, I thought it was a scam call until the person sent me a picture of my identity card,” he said, adding that he returned to Malaysia to collect his bag on Nov 21.
Mr Tan said he personally thanked the two officers who found his bag.
“Everything was accounted for and I am grateful to them for their honesty and professionalism in trying to locate me through our consulate,” he said.
“The first thing I did after realising the bag was missing was to cancel all my bank cards. I had not lodged a report yet as I had a feeling that someone would find my bag.”
A Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs official who commended the two officers said they found the bag lying in the car lane and immediately checked CCTV footage to identify the owner.
The official said the officers alerted their superiors, who then informed the Singapore Consulate-General’s Office in Johor Bahru to help track down the Singaporean.
The official added that this is the second case in which Malaysian Immigration Department officers found cash at the checkpoint and returned it to the owner.
In October 2024, an immigration officer received public praise for his honesty in returning about RM1,500 to a local woman who had left it at the checkpoint. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
