SBS bus captain returns wallet with work permit, S$2,400 to grateful passenger, says: ‘It was the right thing to do'

Independent Singapore

4 days ago

FB screengrab/ SBS Transit Ltd
SINGAPORE: SBS Transit told the heartwarming story of a kind and honest bus captain who did not hesitate to return the wallet a passenger had inadvertently left behind, which happened to contain the man's work permit and S$2,400.
'It was the right thing to do. I've lost my wallet before, so I know exactly how it feels,' b us captain Tan Chiy Ping said in SBS Transit's Jul 21 (Monday) post.
He had been inspecting Bus Service 138 at Ang Mo Kio Interchange after his shift before calling it a day when he found the wallet. At that moment, the passenger, who was described in the post as 'visibly distressed,' entered the bus accompanied by Senior Assistant Interchange Supervisor Nithyananthan Palne.
The man had just been to the Passenger Service Office, telling the staff about his missing wallet. After Mr Palne determined where the bus was via SBS Transit's Operations Control Centre, he brought the man to Bus Service 138.
' The timing couldn't have been better,' the post reads.
Mr Palne said that the passenger 'thanked us over and over again' and that he was 'extremely grateful' since he had earmarked the money to be sent to his family back home.
' A simple act, but a huge impact, and that's integrity in action because we CARE. Well done Chiy Ping and Nathan!' the post added.
This is by no means the first time that an SBS bus captain has shown such honest behaviour.
Earlier this year, SBS also praised one of its bus captains who had returned a lost backpack containing S$14,000 .
On Feb 4, the company thanked Chen Long for being an example of what the company stands for. On his part, the 42-year-old Mr Chen empathised with the backpack owner, writing that he could 'only imagine' the amount of worry the passenger felt.
'So I'm happy I could return it,' he said, adding, 'It's about doing the right thing.'
Undoubtedly, one of SBS' biggest heroes is another bus captain who saved a four-year-old girl who had strayed onto a five-lane road in 2022 .
Ong Shi Chuin had been at the wheel of his SBS Service 400 bus on Marina Boulevard on a Sunday evening, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
Suddenly, he spotted a young girl running barefoot along the wide road, which stretches over five lanes. She seemed to be running towards his bus.
He braked, opened the door, checked for traffic, then dashed out and scooped her up and into his bus.
The girl's father was frantic. As Mr Ong told CNA: 'The father and domestic helper came to my bus and pointed at the little girl and (he) said: 'That's my kid' before thanking me.' /TISG
Read also: Singaporeans praise 'old timer' bus captain for helping elderly auntie with her wheelchair document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { const trigger = document.getElementById("ads-trigger"); if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { entries.forEach(entry => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here observer.unobserve(entry.target); // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); observer.observe(trigger); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });