Money Pouch Stolen 22 June 2012

It has been a very very long while since I had any personal possession taken from me. Yesterday was a different experience. I was McDonald's Lucky Plaza at B1. I left my pouch slung on the chair. Inside was my wallet, passport, MP4 player & about $1,500 in cash. When we had finished, I left McD. Less than 3 mins later I realised what had happened. I ran back, only to find my pouch missing. A young lady, actually saw a youth in his 20s come in the side door, take the pouch & leave. His action was so smooth that she assumed he had to be the owner. The thief took the pouch to the B1 Gents, emptied all the cash and dumped the pouch into the bin next to the toilet. Whilst I was reporting the incident to the security dept & watching the video footage, the toilet cleaner, a China national returned my pouch to the security. He had found it whilst emptying the bin. I was glad to have my stuff back, even with all the cash gone.
Perhaps it was just a one-off unfortunate incident. However according to the Security guards, the B1 McDonald's is the venue of a syndicate that has been preying on careless individuals such as me for some time now. They had even reported the matter to the police more than once. I do admit that I have been careless with my belongings. I alone am to blame.
The reverse seems to happen to me more often. Whilst in Bali, I left my pouch in the gents.I returned many minutes later & received it back intact from a smiling toilet cleaner. My son left his wallet containing $350 at a recent IT expo. A 23 year old youth living in Sembawang brought it back all the way to our doorstep, following the address on my son's Nric. The gentleman refused to accept any reward, so I drove him back to Sembawang. When he found the wallet, he called his mother. She said to return it immediately.
I will not allow this incident to get the better of me. Overall people in Singapore are honest and civic minded. A few bad hats cannot change this fact. They only block the sunshine for a few fleeting moments.