PUBLISHED ONJuly 22, 2026 11:20 PMBYEsther LamAfter a passenger accidentally left her bag containing $32,000 worth of cash and jewellery on a bus, an SBS Transit staff member went the extra mile by paying for her taxi fare so she could retrieve it.
A Facebook post by SBS Transit Ltd on Wednesday (July 22) recounted the incident where the passenger, identified only as Mrs K, had accidentally left her bag on bus service 853 earlier this month after alighting at a bus stop.
She then approached the staff at Ang Mo Kio Interchange for help after realising what had happened.
According to the post, the bag contained, among other things, the passenger's passport, $2,000 cash and $30,000 worth of gold jewellery meant for her daughter's wedding.
As bus service 853 is operated by Tower Transit Singapore, senior assistant interchange supervisor Nithyananthan Palne (Nathan) immediately contacted the operator to locate the missing bag.
About 20 minutes later, the bus operator confirmed that a fellow passenger had found the bag and handed it in.
Although relieved, the passenger realised she needed to travel to another interchange to retrieve her belongings but did not have any money with her for the journey.
SBS Transit's senior interchange supervisor Alex Tan then stepped in to help by personally booking a taxi to Yishun Interchange and paying the fare so she could collect her belongings.
Two days later, recounted Palne, both the passenger and her daughter called to thank them and even extended an invitation to the wedding in Kuala Lumpur.
The woman subsequently dropped by Ang Mo Kio Interchange a week later to thank Palne and Tan in person.
She also reimbursed the latter for the taxi fare he had paid out of pocket, the post wrote.
"We were just happy that she got her bag back," said Tan. "My family was very proud of me. When I told my daughter about it, she wanted to learn from this and help others."
The passenger also sent in a letter of appreciation to SBS Transit, which was included in the post, to "express my sincere appreciation and gratitude for the exceptional assistance provided by your staff during a distressing incident".
"Thank you for employing staff who exemplify such outstanding public service," she added.
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