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Why is this man so happy with his $80 summons? See the answer below
It helped him find his stolen bus
June 13, 2009
A FINE MESS: Call it a blessing in disguise, but thanks to his $80 summons, Mr Heng Swee Pheng managed to locate his bus. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE
BUS DRIVER Heng Swee Pheng received a rude shock when he discovered his 30-seater school bus missing from its parking lot on Tuesday morning.
He duly made a police report that same day.
Then, inspiration struck.
On a hunch, Mr Heng, 51, went to an AXS machine near his flat yesterday morning and keyed in the bus' licence plate number.
And that was when he found out that a summons of $80 had been issued at 9am yesterday.
Said Mr Heng: 'All I could think of was to hurry to the HDB office to find out where it was issued so I could go find my bus.'
Mr Heng, along with six friends, then rushed to the HDB office at Bedok bus interchange in a minivan.
There, he was told that the summons had been issued at the heavy vehicle carpark at Block 631, Bedok Reservoir Road.
'We went there immediately and when I saw my bus still parked there, I was so relieved,' said Mr Heng.
'I quickly called the police and they told me not to touch it as they had to dust (the bus) for fingerprints.'
A police spokesman said yesterday that Mr Heng had located the bus on his own and informed them. No arrests have been made.
Mr Heng said that when he found the bus, it was littered with cigarette butts and leftover food.
'The thieves must have driven recklessly because the battery box came out from its casing and had to be hammered back,' he said.
An Akira-brand television onboard was left intact but Mr Heng found that his things such as his toolbox had been ransacked.
The floor of the bus was also sticky.
Mr Heng said that he had parked his bus at Block 90, Bedok North Avenue 4 at about 6.30pm on Monday. He locked it before he left.
Said Mr Heng: 'I didn't leave my keys in the ignition and I locked my bus, so I have no idea how they managed to steal it.'
It was still there at 1am the next morning when he drove past in his minibus to fetch factory workers on the night shift.
But when he returned two hours later, his bus was gone.
'Some of my friends who are taxi drivers have been searching the whole of Singapore hoping to spot the bus,' said Mr Heng.
For the past two days, he rented a bus for about $100 a day to ferry students and workers.
Mr Zhang, 40, a friend of Mr Heng who works as a taxi driver, was among those who helped look for the bus.
He said: 'As taxi-drivers, we get to travel to different parts of Singapore, so we tried to help him.
'We are glad he found his bus.'
Mr Heng said he's now hoping that the traffic summons will be waived.
Pearly Tan, newsroom intern
Why is this man so happy with his $80 summons? See the answer below
It helped him find his stolen bus
June 13, 2009
A FINE MESS: Call it a blessing in disguise, but thanks to his $80 summons, Mr Heng Swee Pheng managed to locate his bus. TNP PICTURE: NG XI JIE
BUS DRIVER Heng Swee Pheng received a rude shock when he discovered his 30-seater school bus missing from its parking lot on Tuesday morning.
He duly made a police report that same day.
Then, inspiration struck.
On a hunch, Mr Heng, 51, went to an AXS machine near his flat yesterday morning and keyed in the bus' licence plate number.
And that was when he found out that a summons of $80 had been issued at 9am yesterday.
Said Mr Heng: 'All I could think of was to hurry to the HDB office to find out where it was issued so I could go find my bus.'
Mr Heng, along with six friends, then rushed to the HDB office at Bedok bus interchange in a minivan.
There, he was told that the summons had been issued at the heavy vehicle carpark at Block 631, Bedok Reservoir Road.
'We went there immediately and when I saw my bus still parked there, I was so relieved,' said Mr Heng.
'I quickly called the police and they told me not to touch it as they had to dust (the bus) for fingerprints.'
A police spokesman said yesterday that Mr Heng had located the bus on his own and informed them. No arrests have been made.
Mr Heng said that when he found the bus, it was littered with cigarette butts and leftover food.
'The thieves must have driven recklessly because the battery box came out from its casing and had to be hammered back,' he said.
An Akira-brand television onboard was left intact but Mr Heng found that his things such as his toolbox had been ransacked.
The floor of the bus was also sticky.
Mr Heng said that he had parked his bus at Block 90, Bedok North Avenue 4 at about 6.30pm on Monday. He locked it before he left.
Said Mr Heng: 'I didn't leave my keys in the ignition and I locked my bus, so I have no idea how they managed to steal it.'
It was still there at 1am the next morning when he drove past in his minibus to fetch factory workers on the night shift.
But when he returned two hours later, his bus was gone.
'Some of my friends who are taxi drivers have been searching the whole of Singapore hoping to spot the bus,' said Mr Heng.
For the past two days, he rented a bus for about $100 a day to ferry students and workers.
Mr Zhang, 40, a friend of Mr Heng who works as a taxi driver, was among those who helped look for the bus.
He said: 'As taxi-drivers, we get to travel to different parts of Singapore, so we tried to help him.
'We are glad he found his bus.'
Mr Heng said he's now hoping that the traffic summons will be waived.
Pearly Tan, newsroom intern
