http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,201971,00.html?
Lost and found: Red plastic tub
Unclaimed items fetched $60,000 at auction last year
By Vivien Chan
May 15, 2009
HASSLE NO MORE: The police will implement a centralised system in August, where all found items are sent to the police division at Guillemard Road. TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
WE ARE a forgetful bunch, it seems.
Each year, the police receive about 120,000 reports on lost items, and another 20,000 on items that were found.
Some of the more unusual items that people have picked up and handed over to the police are bicycles, mattresses and even a plastic tub.
Senior Staff Sergeant Lim Geok Leng, who is in charge of the lost and found division at Jurong Police Division, recalled the case of the red plastic tub.
'A hawker left behind the used circular plastic basin, about 40cm in diameter, in a taxi. The taxi driver brought the tub to us, and the hawker finally traced it here and claimed it.'
People have also handed over bicycles, many of which had been left in public areas like HDB void decks for a long time. Some had even been stripped of their parts.
Other common items that are found include jewellery, wallets, cash, cameras, laptops, and handphones.
The police keep them for about a month, and categorise them as valuable or non-valuable.
Things like old clothes and luggage will be disposed of if they are not claimed after a month.
Those who have lost their items have to call the police. The callers are referred to the lost-and-found division. The officers will then ask a series of questions, like the description of the item, to verify the callers' claims.
If the police are satisfied with the answers, the items will be returned. It is not known whether any claims have been rejected.
Valuables like jewellery and electronic items are auctioned off at a thrice-yearly police auction.
Last year, they fetched $60,000, which went to the Government Consolidated Fund.
If you've got data stored in your lost camera, handphone or laptop, you don't have to worry about it falling into wrong hands.
Deputy Superintendent Chung Chee Meng, assistant director of the Police Logistics Base, explained: 'We recognise that even after deleting the memory, computer forensics can still retrieve the information.
'So, these items will be removed of their memory and only the casings and spare parts will be auctioned.'
The memory cards and hard disks will then be disposed of.
Currently, items that are handed over by the public end up being stored at one of six police divisions, depending on where they were found.
This can be a hassle for owners trying to track them down.
Centralised system in Aug
The police are implementing a centralised system in August, where all found items are sent to the police division at Guillemard Road.
'That makes economical sense, because we save time and manpower,' said DSP Chung.
Meanwhile, some people abroad who have found items took it upon themselves to track down the owners.
In a recent New York Times report, a couple found a camera in western Scotland. They uploaded some of the photos from the camera onto the Internet.
With a few others, they traced clues in the photos and eventually found the delighted owner.
The police here are also looking at using the Internet to help trace owners of such items.
One idea - modelled after a system by the UK police - is to post the pictures contained in digital cameras or mobile phones on an online gallery.
People who have lost such items can then check the gallery to see if they recognise any of the pictures posted. They can then call a new hotline to claim it.
DSP Chung said: 'We understand that there are some legal implications and privacy issues in this, so we will set in place more robust safeguards.'
Lost and found: Red plastic tub
Unclaimed items fetched $60,000 at auction last year
By Vivien Chan
May 15, 2009
HASSLE NO MORE: The police will implement a centralised system in August, where all found items are sent to the police division at Guillemard Road. TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
WE ARE a forgetful bunch, it seems.
Each year, the police receive about 120,000 reports on lost items, and another 20,000 on items that were found.
Some of the more unusual items that people have picked up and handed over to the police are bicycles, mattresses and even a plastic tub.
Senior Staff Sergeant Lim Geok Leng, who is in charge of the lost and found division at Jurong Police Division, recalled the case of the red plastic tub.
'A hawker left behind the used circular plastic basin, about 40cm in diameter, in a taxi. The taxi driver brought the tub to us, and the hawker finally traced it here and claimed it.'
People have also handed over bicycles, many of which had been left in public areas like HDB void decks for a long time. Some had even been stripped of their parts.
Other common items that are found include jewellery, wallets, cash, cameras, laptops, and handphones.
The police keep them for about a month, and categorise them as valuable or non-valuable.
Things like old clothes and luggage will be disposed of if they are not claimed after a month.
Those who have lost their items have to call the police. The callers are referred to the lost-and-found division. The officers will then ask a series of questions, like the description of the item, to verify the callers' claims.
If the police are satisfied with the answers, the items will be returned. It is not known whether any claims have been rejected.
Valuables like jewellery and electronic items are auctioned off at a thrice-yearly police auction.
Last year, they fetched $60,000, which went to the Government Consolidated Fund.
If you've got data stored in your lost camera, handphone or laptop, you don't have to worry about it falling into wrong hands.
Deputy Superintendent Chung Chee Meng, assistant director of the Police Logistics Base, explained: 'We recognise that even after deleting the memory, computer forensics can still retrieve the information.
'So, these items will be removed of their memory and only the casings and spare parts will be auctioned.'
The memory cards and hard disks will then be disposed of.
Currently, items that are handed over by the public end up being stored at one of six police divisions, depending on where they were found.
This can be a hassle for owners trying to track them down.
Centralised system in Aug
The police are implementing a centralised system in August, where all found items are sent to the police division at Guillemard Road.
'That makes economical sense, because we save time and manpower,' said DSP Chung.
Meanwhile, some people abroad who have found items took it upon themselves to track down the owners.
In a recent New York Times report, a couple found a camera in western Scotland. They uploaded some of the photos from the camera onto the Internet.
With a few others, they traced clues in the photos and eventually found the delighted owner.
The police here are also looking at using the Internet to help trace owners of such items.
One idea - modelled after a system by the UK police - is to post the pictures contained in digital cameras or mobile phones on an online gallery.
People who have lost such items can then check the gallery to see if they recognise any of the pictures posted. They can then call a new hotline to claim it.
DSP Chung said: 'We understand that there are some legal implications and privacy issues in this, so we will set in place more robust safeguards.'
