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SINGAPORE: A Grab driver who took a phone left by a passenger, despite being alerted about the lost device by another passenger, was jailed for 12 days on Tuesday (November 4).
Fok Kar Lam, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of dishonest misappropriation of an iPhone 11 valued at more than S $ 1,000 from an Indonesian tourist.
The court heard that the 43-year-old victim boarded Fok’s car with a friend on the night of February 26.
During the trip, the victim placed her phone next to her on the seat, but forgot to take it when she got out with her friend 15 minutes later.
While in a restaurant, the victim realized that her phone was missing and her friend tried to call her number to locate the device, without success.
Her friend also tried to communicate with Fok through the Grab app, but there was no response.
At approximately 11 p.m. that day, another passenger boarded the Fok’s Grab vehicle on Turf Club Road and found the iPhone in the back seat.
He told Fok that he found an iPhone and gave it to Fok to keep, so they could take it to Grab.
Fok acknowledged this and, according to court documents, placed the phone “near the gearbox” of his vehicle before continuing to drive.
The passenger took a photo of the phone where it was placed before getting off at Yishun.
Despite what he had agreed to, Fok misappropriated the phone in a dishonest way. He did not intend to track down and return the phone to its rightful owner and continued to drive his Grab vehicle, state attorney Ting Nge Kong said.
After midnight on February 27, the victim’s friend helped track down the lost phone through the “Find my iPhone” app and was found moving from Yishun to Sengkang.
Fok received an inquiry from Grab about the phone a few minutes after this, but he denied finding or receiving the device.
The victim subsequently filed a police report on her lost phone, which she claimed was valued at $ 999 (S $ 1,387), including the phone and the casing.
Fok was identified through police investigations, but the phone was not recovered and no return was made to the victim.
For misappropriating the phone in a dishonest way, you could have been imprisoned for up to two years, fined, or both.
CNA has contacted Grab for more information.
