A single mother lost her purse in Pasir Ris while she was on her way home on the evening of Jan. 16, 2024.
Left with only S$8 in her bank account, the 30-year-old Amanda Nguyen was devastated as she would only receive her pay on Feb. 5. She works in the catering industry.
Not only was Nguyen behind on rent, she also had an 18-month-old daughter to feed.
Put up public notices, Facebook post
Unsure of what else to do, Nguyen spent her last remaining S$8 on printing out five paper notices, informing the public about her plight and requesting they contact her if they had found her purse, 8World News reported.
She put up these notices at places that she would pass by while on her way home.
Nguyen does not recall when and where exactly she lost her purse, but she suspects that she lost it when she was walking to her home at Block 560 Pasir Ris Street 51 with her daughter from Pasir Ris MRT Station.
She said the last time she saw her purse — a black purse bearing the Louis Vuitton monogram — was after dinner with her daughter and domestic helper on Jan. 16 evening.
Have you seen this purse? Image from Amada Nguyễn/Facebook.
Nguyen revealed that she enlisted a domestic helper to help care for her young daughter so that she could focus on being the sole breadwinner in her small family of two.
When she realised that her purse was missing on Jan. 17 morning, Nguyen went to the dinner place, where she saw herself holding onto her purse in the CCTV recording.
She also put up a post with a photo of the public notice on the Lost and Found Facebook group on Jan. 18.
She wrote: "Last night at 8:20pm, my 18-month-old daughter and I went to Pasir Ris MRT to go home to Block 560 Pasir Ris. I dropped my wallet. Inside is money I haven't paid for a room yet. S$600-650. My ic Nguyen Thi Hai Yen. bank card MRT card. If anyone finds it, please call me at XXXXXXXX. I would like to express my gratitude and thanks so much 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏"
Purse had cash for rent and gold necklaces
Nguyen said she had around S$600 to S$650 cash in her purse and she intended to use that money to pay her rent.
She said her rent was due on Jan. 10, but her landlord had told her to hold onto that cash for the moment as he was aware of her financial difficulties.
Despite her landlord's reassurance, Nguyen said she dare not dip into that money and kept it in inside her purse, along with her identification card and bank cards.
Besides these items, there was also a gold necklace in Nguyen's purse. She said the necklace belonged to her domestic helper, who had handed them to her for safekeeping.
Never did she expect that she would lose them all within a night.
Donations pour in from people online
By putting up the notices and the Facebook post, Nguyen believes that "Singaporeans are good people" and that the person who finds her purse will return it to her.
Above all, she hopes to recover her helper's gold necklace, adding that she would eventually come to terms with the fact that the cash had been stolen.
She said: "I also told myself not to cry anymore and to let go."
According to 8World News, Nguyen's friend and landlord have each lent her S$100 after learning about her plight.
Since then, more Good Samaritans have come forward to either lend Nguyen a helping hand or console her, after seeing her Jan. 18 Facebook post.
She said has received a total of S$1,300 from four individuals, one of whom not only anonymously donated S$1,000 but encouraged her to stand up strong and to have a good life.
Top image from Amada Nguyễn/Facebook