S'porean woman goes to JB for massage & a meal, gets stuck for 4 days after losing passport

A Singaporean woman planned to make a quick trip to Johor Bahru (JB) during the National Day long weekend but ended up stranded there for four days after losing her passport.

Sabrina Sim posted her journey in a five-part series on TikTok, titled "Trapped in JB".

Came back from supper to find her passport missing

Sim and her friends drove to JB at around 1am on Aug. 10, where they planned to have a quick massage and a meal before going home.

Sim said the group of five left their passports in the glove compartment of the car as they thought it would be safer than carrying them around.

When they came back from their meal at around 5am, they found two of the passports, including Sim's, were missing.

They managed to find one of the passports which had slipped to the back of the glovebox.

But despite a three-hour search, Sim's was still missing.

Sim told Mothership her passport "might be somewhere in Malaysia", though she remembered it being last seen in the car.

"My friends dismantled the car and took out parts of the car and my passport wasn't there," Sim said.

They then proceeded to make a police report about the lost passport.

The next step was to obtain the necessary immigration documents, including a Document of Identity (DOI) from the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore, located in JB's City Square.

Sim's visit would be delayed as the Consulate-General doesn't open on weekends.

Furthermore, Monday (Aug. 12) was a public holiday in JB.

This meant that Sim could only wait till Aug. 13 to go to the Consulate-General.

Making the best of the situation

As the group had not planned to stay longer than a day, Sim did not pack any overnight essentials.

As it was a long weekend due to the public holiday, hotels were also fully booked.

Fortunately, Sim and her boyfriend managed to find a place to stay with their friend's help.

Sim then reported the loss of her passport and applied for a new one, which cost her S$120.

Meanwhile, Sim and her boyfriend tried to make the best of the situation and visited KSL City Mall as well as the Sea Life Aquarium at Legoland Malaysia.

"The worst meltdown"

Aug. 13 finally arrived and Sim was more than ready to leave JB.

She managed to successfully get her DOI at the Consulate-General of the Republic of Singapore — this would allow her to enter Singapore without a passport.

She also managed to get other necessary documents at the Setia Tropika Immigration Office which would allow her to leave Malaysia.

Sim told Mothership that the staff there initially told her "to book an appointment and come back down in November", which led to her having "the worst meltdown" of her life.

She pleaded with the staff, saying she "didn't have anything in JB, not even the necessities required to survive day-to-day".

Sim also told them that she was still schooling, and would not be able to graduate if her attendance was affected.

Fortunately, the staff sympathised with Sim's situation and generated a special pass for her to go home.

Sim said, "The moment I put my hands on the special pass I was literally feeling so relieved."

"Moral of the story, whichever country you go to, please don't lose your passport," Sim told her followers on TikTok.

@sabrinasimisai omg finally the episode yall have been waiting for: THE FINALE. there’s so much i learnt from this (including not to be stupid and lose my passport overseas 🥲). but i just wanted to use this opportunity to thank everyone who have showed concern, checked up on me and was here for me to provide help throughout the craziest 5 days of my 2024. trust me i was living on nothing and had to survive 5 DAYS in JB with shit that i packed for A ONE-DAY TRIP 💀 wasn’t easy, but managed to make the best out of it nonetheless. this is such a wild experience but honestly, i’m just do glad it’s all over now. • #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #malaysia #malaysiatiktok #johorbahru #tiktokmalaysia #tiktokmalaysiaviral #viral #trending #fyp #singapore #singaporean #daytrip #daytriptojb #lostpassport #tourist #touristlife #foryoupage #sealife #sealifemalaysia #woodlandscheckpoint #malaysiantiktok #tiktokjohorbahru #passport #redpassport ♬ original sound - professional armpit lover

Incident took place during lunar seventh month

Sim told Mothership that her mum had had a bad feeling about Sim's trip before the 22-year-old left for JB.

On the day of the trip, Sim said she forgot her passport at home and had to go back to retrieve it.

"I feel like that was a sign that I shouldn't have gone," Sim said. "Even some TikTok commenters on my video related this bizarre incident to the seventh month."

In many Asian cultures, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is believed to be when the spirits of the deceased return to the living world to seek food offerings and attention from their loved ones.

The seventh month of the lunar calendar in 2024 is from Aug. 4 to Sep. 2.

After the incident, Sim said she followed her parents to a temple "for the first time in a long time", to pray for protection and safety.

What to do if you lose your passport in Malaysia

According to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Singaporeans who misplace their passports in Malaysia should make a police report immediately at the nearest local police station.

They must then bring the police report and two passport-sized photographs to the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur or Consulate-General of The Republic of Singapore in Johor Bahru to obtain a replacement travel document.

A temporary travel document will be issued to facilitate a one-way return to Singapore.

For exiting Malaysia with a temporary travel document, travellers may be required to apply for a special pass from the Malaysian Immigration Headquarters nearest to their point of departure.

They may apply for a new passport upon returning home.

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Top image via @sabrinasimisai/TikTok.