Max Headroom wrote:I've heard of people keeping a found wallet, getting nicked and then getting into strife. Recently, if I remember correctly, this bloke was sentenced to 2 weeks jail time for exactly that, i.e. not returning a found wallet.
I don’t believe that. It implies that failing to successfully return lost
property to someone (you do not even know) is a criminal act. If so can someone name the Statute, say some 'Lost Property Act 19xx' ? Would you get jailed similarly for not returning a lost umbrella, or a lost $1 coin left in an NTUC shopping trolley? Now, if the said wallet contained bank-cards and the finder got up to some fraudulent hanky-hanky with those cards, well that’s a completely different matter.
beppi wrote:I once found a wallet, with some money, cards and the owner's NRIC. I brought it to the next police post and gave them my name and address, so the owner could at least than me. No word from him ever came. Some Singaporean colleagues told me never to do that again, because if anything were missing from the wallet, the owner and the police would accuse me of having stolen it.
Well there’s something called a Burden of Proof. How could the finder or the police ever prove that anything allegedly missing from the wallet was actually missing, or was taken by you? I appreciate that bank-cards remain the property of the bank, but re: the cash+wallet itself doesn’t ‘finders keepers’ come into play? The owner should be
delighted to get
anything back.
I’ve lost a wallet twice. Once it came back fully intact including cash, and the other time intact but minus the cash. A simple way to facilitate return is stick a business card, or equivalent, in there and write on it ‘This wallet belongs to ---->>>’ [arrow pointing at your name]. I believe most people proceed will goodwill and noble intentions, but making it easier for them doesn’t hurt*.
Once, walking back home from work through heavy snow (US) I noticed an envelope lying on a pile of snow on the side of the pavement. Somehow I felt compelled to pick it up, and I was stunned to find that it contained something like US$300 in cash
There was nothing marked on/in the envelope at all. What to do, it was a Friday pm and likely some cash-paid workers weekly pay, i.e. a damned site more significant to them than me? I decided to put an ad in the local paper under ‘Lost and Found’ [note: these are usually free of charge to place]. It read roughly ‘Sum of money found on sidewalk by junction of X/Y street on dd/month, describe sum and what it’s inside for it’s return’. I heard nothing, but felt I’d done my best, and so got to keep it with no feelings of guilt.
* Following similar logic when travelling with luggage. I have a template form I set-up in Excel. On it it reads:
[As a header]
This bag belongs to:
Home address:
E-mail:
Mobile: '+XX-[etc]'
[And below: Repeated 5 times down a page]
Today: [insert relevant date]
I am travelling on this flight/flights: [Example: BA007 London/LHR - Singapore/SIN (add more lines for any connecting flights, I think I also usually add Dep/Arr times too)]
Going to: [address/contact info]
That is put somewhere preferably easy to access, or worst case on top of the contents of a locked bag. As each new journey occurs, you just cross out the previous journey details, and repeat the process going down the page. If you've ever arrived at destination without your luggage you'll know why such a simple thing is worthwhile!
For security reasons [there is no virtue in broadcasting that your home is potentially empty], some people might want to consider substituting their home address with say a work address.
This did save a holiday one time! Anyone who has gone on holiday and arrived without even a toothbrush or change of underwear will know what an overwhelming PITA it is. But going on say a dive-trip somewhere remote makes it much worse! Never mind the prospect of having to hire a full set of dive gear!
, I guess...that's why I found out about it only 2 minutes after I got out of the cab.