Lau Guat Toh, 56, a waiter at Lau Ka Kopitiam in Bedok North, noticed a black bag left unattended on a chair during the dinner rush on Monday, The Straits Times reported.
After keeping an eye on the bag for about 10 minutes and realizing its owner had likely forgotten it, she moved it to the drinks counter and asked a colleague to store it within view of a CCTV camera.
When no one came forward to claim it, Lau and two colleagues opened the bag under the camera to look for identification. They found stacks of S$1,000, S$100 and S$50 notes, which they estimated amounted to at least S$20,000, AsiaOne reported.
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People walk down a shopping street in Singapore. Photo by Reuters |
The workers closed the bag and alerted their manager.
The couple who left the bag only noticed it missing later that night. The husband, Tan Yeok Sin, 70, returned to the shop at around 11 p.m. and got it back with the cash intact after verifying his belongings.
Tan and his wife, Low Hong Geok, 63, had stopped at the shop for fish soup before heading to a friend’s wake.
He returned on Tuesday with snacks, sweets and a Labubu doll to thank Lau, who shared the food with her colleagues.
Lau’s act quickly earned praise from netizens.
“Wonderful and kind hearted person. Well done. God bless!,” a netizen wrote.
“I hope she was given some as a reward,” another wrote.
Known for its strict laws and low crime rates, Singapore has consistently been recognized by international media as the safest country in Southeast Asia.
Under Singaporean law, people convicted of theft can face up to three years in prison, a fine, or both.