This made my day: British expat in shock after his lost wallet with $500 cash in Singapore was returned to police

Singapore has long had a reputation for being a fine city but maybe there's a basis for some dual meaning to that statement.

A British man here who lost his wallet with some $500 inside thought he'll never see it again, until he received a letter some 10 days later from the police informing him that his wallet was found.

What caught him off guard was that a good chunk of the cash was left intact.

On Thursday (May 26), this very happy expatriate shared the experience on his TikTok account Chrishendoo.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@chrishendoo/video/7101874397794929922?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6944924152827184641[/embed]

Given that his wallet was gone for well over a week, no one would blame him for losing all hope of getting his wallet, and money back. 

Thankfully, he didn't as the police mentioned in the letter that they had some of his items.

Just before he left for the police station, the man could be seen on the video crossing his fingers hoping his money wasn't stolen.

"Let's see if Singapore has those honest people that they always go on about. I'm hopeful, I'm really really hopeful. I need this money back. $500 is a lot of money to lose," he said.

He pointed out that he doesn't usually carry $500 cash with him and that he needed this money back as he has a baby coming in September.

After collecting his wallet at the police station, the British man, in that video, did a quick cash count in a vehicle. 

He counted $460 cash in the wallet and though this amount didn't match up to the initial $500, he was not complaining. 

"Whoever handed it in, thank you so much and I hope that you get good karma for you and your family. If only I had your name and number so I could give you some sort of compensation and thank you," he said.

He went on to praise Singapore by mentioning the "honesty of the people" and the supposed lack of a criminal mindset among us.

In the comments section, one TikTok user couldn't let go of the fact that there was still $40 missing but ChrisHendoo had no issues with that.

Other netizens suggested he was simply lucky and that such a sweeping statement on Singapore being an honest place may not apply to all.

His positive words for Singapore had some TikTok users feeling patriotic about their home, truly.

Losing your wallet can be a traumatising experience.

Should it ever happen to you, here's a step-by-step guide on minimising the financial impact of such an incident.

ALSO READ: Man loses wallet, then finds it returned in his letterbox

amierul@asiaone.com