TL;DR – Keep calm and read on.
On 20 September at around 10am, Facebook user Sammi Siek shared a post to a Facebook group 新山吹水站, a platform that allows Johoreans to connect with each other and talk about everything under the sun.
It turns out that the lady who was in front of her had forgotten to take her money she withdrew and rushed off without it. Siek tried chasing after the lady, only to lose her in the crowd.
Siek then called the bank to inform them about this incident and that stated in the post that she would return the cash to the bank later in the day.
Written entirely in Chinese, her post had garnered over 3,000 likes and more than 700 shares at the time of this post, with most commenters commending her for her integrity and honesty.
Here’s the English translation of what happened:
“To Miss So-and-So, I’m not sure if you will read this post.
This morning at around 9.45am, you were at the OCBC ATM located at the Tampines Bus Interchange withdrawing money. However, you didn’t take the money with you. I was anxious and I tried calling out to you as I was removing the money from the ATM, but you walked away without turning back. I chased after you, but I wasn’t able to identify you from your back as you walked into the crowd.
I have contacted the bank through the hotline and informed them about this. I will leave the money which you have left behind with the OCBC Tampines Branch after I’ve knocked off from work tonight. If you are the owner of the money, please do not worry. The hotline personnel whom I have spoken with said that they will transfer the money back to you after verifying your identity.”
At the end of her post, she also included two hashtags which read:
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have removed the money from the ATM just because I was anxious”
“Because the bank opens at 11am and I couldn’t wait, so I will deliver the money after I’ve knocked off tonight”
Now, here’s a tip for you should the person in front of you at the ATM forgot to take his or her money:
Do not panic.
If possible, you can wait for the machine to retract the cash. The money would then be automatically credited back to the system (and back to the account holder later.)
However, if the ATM doesn’t retract the money, or if you have removed the cash in hopes of finding the owner but fail to do so, you should return the cash and receipt to the bank. But in the event that no receipt was issued, you can help the bank in tracing the owner by providing them with details such as the time of withdrawal and the ATM’s location.
Just remember, don’t pocket the money!
You may read her post in full text below:
至某某女生，不知道你看不看到这个帖。
刚才9.45am左右，在Tampines Bus Interchange的OCBC ATM这里，你按了钱可是没把钱带走。心急的我一边抽出了钱一边喊你，可是你头也不回的走了，我追了出去可是没办法从一群人的背影辨认出你…
我刚才打给hotline通知了这件事情。你的钱今晚我放工后会帮你送过去Tampines这边的OCBC。如果你是失主，请不要担心。银行热线职员说，他们一旦核实就会直接汇款还你。
#实在抱歉我不应该一时心急而把钱抽出来的
#因为银行11点才开我没办法等所以今晚放工我才送过去