Finders not keepers: Man picks up lost iPhone in Ang Mo Kio, gets fined $3,000

"Finders keepers, losers weepers" may be a popular saying, but the old adage won't protect you in a court of law here.

One man learnt this the hard way when he was slapped with a $3,000 fine in court on Thursday (Sept 10) for keeping an iPhone he had found on a grass patch, CNA reported.

Tan Yiap Ming, 30, had come across the iPhone XR, which was worth about $1,000, on Dec 14 last year near Block 202 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, the court heard.

The phone had dropped out from its owner's unzipped waist pouch just minutes before. 

The owner, identified only as Wang, subsequently made a police report after discovering that his phone was missing.

Tan had not made any attempts to contact Wang, nor had he handed the phone over to the police before they traced it to his home in March this year.

He claimed that he had not surrendered the phone to the police as he had prior convictions and was afraid of going to a police station.

He had also tried and failed to unlock the phone, he said.

However, the prosecution pointed out that the phone had been connected to the WiFi in Tan's home.

"In life, there are many temptations," District Judge Jasvender Kaur told Tan, who was convicted of theft in 2010 and dishonest misappropriation in 2019.

"You see something lying there, you want to take it, but you must not take it. It's as simple as that. If you come to court for a fourth time, you must go to jail, is that clear? So don't be foolish and be tempted."

Under section 403 of the Penal Code, it is an offence to keep another person's movable property for yourself without attempting to locate the owner, even if you gained possession of it through non-illegal means, such as finding it on the street.

For the dishonest misappropriation of property, offenders may face up to two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Disposing of the lost object could also get you in trouble.

In December 2019, an ex-Grab driver was fined a total of $5,000 after he picked up a phone left behind by a passenger, gave himself a five-star rating and threw the phone away at a petrol kiosk.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com