A mainland Chinese student who lost his phone in Penang subsequently discovered it in the Chinese city of Wenzhou, where he was studying.
## Phone was worth S$1,700
According to Lianhe Zaobao, a Singaporean professor, Yan Qingying (transliteration from Mandarin), who works at Wenzhou-Kean University, had taken three students on a trip to Singapore and Malaysia. One of the students, Zeng Yusong (transliteration), lost his iPhone 15 Pro on 31 July. The phone, worth S$1,700, was password-protected and housed in a protective casing that also contained Zeng’s personal identification and student identification cards.
## Discovered phone lost after alighting from private-hire vehicle
According to Professor Yan, Zeng discovered that he had lost his phone after they had alighted from a private hire vehicle. They returned to the location where they had alighted and managed to find the driver. However, the driver said that they could not find Zeng’s phone in his car and suggested that it might have been taken by another customer who boarded the car later. The professor and the students then attempted to search for the phone through its positioning system and discovered that it had been turned on and off from time to time. This led them to suspect that someone had activated the phone but failed in their attempts to unlock it. Zeng then decided to turn his phone off remotely.
## Still unable to locate phone
By the time the three students were due to return to China on 4 August, they were still unable to locate Zeng’s phone. However, when the students were in transit in Hong Kong, they tried tracking the phone again, only to discover that it was now in Wenzhou, the same city as their university. Specifically, it appeared to be in a shopping mall located about 80km away from their university. Zaobao reported that Zeng went directly to the police after he arrived in Wenzhou. On 5 August, he went to the mall, accompanied by police officers, and was led by the phone’s location to a second-hand phone shop. Closed-circuit television footage from the shop showed that one of its staff had turned on the phone and attempted to unlock it. This resulted in the phone revealing its current location.
## Phone had been picked up by a couple in Penang
According to the shop’s staff, a couple had brought the phone to the store. The couple had wanted to sell the phone to the store but could not do so as it was locked. They then left the phone at the store and asked the staff to try to unlock it. When Zeng was able to contact the couple with the help of the police and the staff, he learned that the couple had travelled to Penang at about the same time as the students. The time and place where they found the phone also matched the timing and location of where and when he lost it. The couple also claimed that they had waited 10 minutes at the place where they had found the phone and had only taken the phone back to Wenzhou when no owner stepped forward.
Zeng said he was sceptical about the couple’s explanation given that they turned off the phone, which prevented him from contacting them immediately. They also did not turn the phone over to the driver or the police. Zeng also noted that his identification cards were missing from the phone. Given that his student identification card indicated Wenzhou-Kean University, which is not far from the shop, it should not be difficult to return his student card, he added. Zeng added that even though his phone was returned to him in China where he is based, he can only remind himself to keep his personal belongings safe when he goes out in future.
## Implications and future precautions
This incident highlights the importance of securing personal belongings, especially while travelling. Zeng’s experience serves as a cautionary tale for others to be vigilant about their possessions. The case also underscores the utility of modern technology in tracking lost items, although it also reveals the limitations when items fall into the wrong hands. Future travellers are advised to keep their valuables close and to use tracking systems effectively to mitigate the risk of loss.
