Is possession of LOST item a crime?

[email protected] SG

Paiseh lah Ito_^ Embarassed me should have tell the whole story.

The "finder" did not called my fren and demand reward.

My fren turned back to the food court where he had left behind his hp on the table, can't find his hp.

Using another fren hp, called up his own hp numbers there and then.

Hp ringed from a few tables away, my fren saw a guy took up a hp and look at it and off it.

My fren approached him, asked whether the "finder" pick up his hp, the "finder" deny it.

My fren said he just called and saw him holding his hp and off it.

That was when the "finder" make the statement that he had not committed any wrong doing by keeping something that he had found, something which he said was not a crime in the first place, so not happy report police lor!

My fren not too sure about the law, lan lan bargain with him to take back his hp. So at the end, paid him $50 to solve the whole problem.

Eating Snake SG

I think your friend should make a police report all the same if he can recognise the guy or had some way to contact him.

Why should your friend pay 50 dollars for something that belongs to him?? Same thing happened to my relative once and my relative made a report.

Regarding the phone itself the closest offence would probably be:

Dishonest misappropriation of property [in the Penal Code].
403. Whoever dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use movable property, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation 2 [to the above section]
A person who finds property not in the possession of any other person, and takes such property for the purpose of protecting it for, or of restoring it to the owner, does not take or misappropriate it dishonestly, and is not guilty of an offence; but he is guilty of the offence above defined, if he appropriates it to his own use, when he knows or has the means of discovering the owner, or before he has used reasonable means to discover and give notice to the owner, and has kept the property a reasonable time to enable the owner to claim it.

I don't think the "use" part is necessary - as long as it is 'misappropriated'. And I think from what the guy said he quite obviously was not helping your friend protect the phone / had the intention of restoring it to him.

And anyway demanding money for the return of the phone would be:

Extortion.
383. Whoever intentionally puts any person in fear of any injury to that person or to any other, and thereby dishonestly induces the person so put in fear to deliver to any person any property or valuable security, or anything signed or sealed which may be converted into a valuable security, commits “extortion”.

Injury doesn't mean only things like bruise or cut etc ... things like harm - loss - caused to person in property terms also can.

Don't let this fellow get away with extorting 50 bucks - sekali he go and try the trick on other people.

Ito_^ SG

.. dats even worse. Rolling Eyes right in his face leh.

really feel like puking blood. nothing to say. if im u're fren either i call the cops right there or i take something whack him straight. knn, not happy he go call police lor.

[email protected] SG

Why should your friend pay 50 dollars for something that belongs to him?? Same thing happened to my relative once and my relative made a report.

Regarding the phone itself the closest offence would probably be:

Injury doesn't mean only things like bruise or cut etc ... things like harm - loss - caused to person in property terms also can.

Don't let this fellow get away with extorting 50 bucks - sekali he go and try the trick on other people.

Thanks alot, Eating Snake. Razz

Like many others who had reply earlier to my query, you have been a great help....*applause...applause*

Today I got to learn something new from you about the penal code.

Thanks again, your reply shown that you are not as idle as your nick "Eating Snake" would imply, you really on the ball man! Laughing

I will be talking about another baffling case in my next reply, hope you could help to contribute to the reason why the police was acting in that manner.

YH

Axelheat755 SG

Originally posted by [email protected]:
Thank you all for your replies.

Unless my friend make a police report that his hp was STOLEN, ROB or CHEATED(which is not true in his case), I believe the police will not act on the "finder". Am I right with my assumption here? Since there was no actual crime being committed by the "finder" on my friend to gain the possession of his hp.

Worst case, my friend will kena charge by the police for making a WRONG INFORMATION REPORT when it was proven to be case of LOST hp instead of STOLEN.

Anyway, to cut the case short, my friend was given back his hp after he paid the "finder" $50. Once again, was wondering is there a wrong doing(legally) being committed here since money was used in the exchange.

Btw, read about this front page news on The Straits Times today. What are your views guys?

[b]Database to fight rising cell phone thefts

Police exploring idea of phone identity cards, which could let networks block handsets.

Could the idea by the police works? Would the telcos Singtel, M1 & Starhub co-operate? Already Singtel sound hesistant in their reply to the idea.

YH

[/b]

crazy... call the police den nap the guy when u meet him to conclude ur "deal". Possession of other ppl property = stealing.

[email protected] SG

Hahaha..... Laughing That was exactly the same words "call the cops.... whack him..." advice that i had given to my fren. Kena f***ed by him upside down, left right and centre lol.

But he has his point or rather brain right in the first place, by not clashing head on with the "finder" using a violent method, afterall he was a head shorter and many pounds lighter than the "finder". Mr. Green

Thanks for the advice anyway, Ito_^. Wink

Anyway, this case of LOST hp has been declared as CLOSED!

So thank you all who had contributed their views and advices on this subject.

Now lets move on to another interesting case, LOST of Singapore Identity Card.

One of my working colleagues lost his wallet and hp in a public toilet last Friday.

After calling up all of his credit card banks to cancelled his cards and starhub to blocked his sim card, he went to his home nearby NPP, wanting to make a police report on his LOST I.C.

But he was shocked when told that the law has changed, as such there is NO NEED to make a police report if one lost their I.C.

Instead he was told to make a report on his lost hp, the officer asked my colleague to leave and comes back again with the imei numbers of his hp to make a report.

Obviously, my colleague was shocked and he was lost for words at that moment, but recovered shortly to asked the officer "what if my I.C. was being misused by the finder to commit wrong doings?"

The officer did not answer directly to his question and just repeated the earlier statement that the law has been changed, as such there is no need to make a police report for loss of I.C.

Then my colleague asked "why then you are prepared to make a report for my lost hp but not I.C.?"

Once again, the officer did not address the question directly and simply said the imei numbers was being asked for record purposes. Shocked

What the heck is going on here??? That was my colleague then and mine now question.

A LOST hp is deemed to be a more important personal article than a I.C.??? Rolling Eyes

For the past few days, my colleague was having sleepless nights and worrying that his I.C. might fall into a wrong person hand.

Fearful and worrisome so much that my colleague was prepared to tell a lie and make up a story that he was being "robbed" of his wallet and hp, so as he could make a police report in black and white, recording on his loss of I.C. and others possession.

What the heck is going on here???

That is the question i am putting forth to everyone who are familiar with the law or the operation of our SPF/NPP in regard to this matter.

Thank you all in advance. Razz

YH

houndy SG

Cause IC, you can go ICA to replace… they will give you a collection slip and cancel your IC Bar Code.. anyway even with a report, the person go borrow money from loansharks… well… you can do nothing much right.. it is your friend carelessness…

[email protected] SG

Thanks houndy. Wink

Being a law abiding citizen, my colleague was not too worry about ILLEGAL "Ah Long" coming after him, but he was scared to hell what if those "Ah Long" are the LEGAL one. Twisted Evil

Hope you get to understand my friend concerns here. Embarassed

With a black and white police report, he could stands on a much firmer ground when a lawyer letter will to be send to him after someone misused his I.C. in any fraud case on legitimate companies. Mad

YH

agk_titan SG

these legitimate companies giving out loans need just more than an IC to give out lah...u need to bring along other personal documents too

so chances are the IC wont be mis-used..

i also lost my wallet once...but the bugger is interested only in my $200+ cash inside but not my exlink card wif value $50 Laughing

[email protected] SG

That was a very reassuring statement, agk_titan. Thanks. Razz

Hopefully, in a worst worst scenerio, only the illegal ah long will come knocking on my colleague home door only. Laughing

That should be a reasonable price one must be prepared to pay or face if one do lost their I.C. thru their own carelessness. Wink

Or do we have other forumers here might not agreed with us, in that they have personal experience and account of their own lost I.C. being misused even in legitimate companies?

YH

qazplm SG

well, with the increasing of "cases" to "ah-longs" that people is using another person's IC to borrow money from them....

DO you think they will still operate on a "profit" basis? there are some exceptional cases, but if you were an "ah-long", will you lend money to someone that you jolly well know that you cant retrive it in the future? Mr. Green

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