M'sian spends night at S'pore McDonald's after losing passport, gets help from SBS Transit staff

A Malaysian man who lost his passport while in Singapore was left stranded overnight, forced to sleep at a McDonald’s outlet, before the document was recovered with the help of an SBS Transit staff member.

Stranded in McDonald's

The man reportedly spent the entire night searching for his missing passport, suspecting that he might have left it behind on one of the buses he had boarded earlier in the day.

With no way to cross the border without his travel document, he ended up spending the night at a McDonald’s outlet in Singapore.

According to a Facebook post by SBS Transit yesterday (Dec. 20), Senior Assistant Interchange Supervisor Nithyananthan Palne, also known as Nathan, came across the distressed traveller at around 5am when he had just begun his shift at the Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange.

Nathan recalled:

“He was crying, saying he couldn’t return to Malaysia without his passport and didn’t know what to do.”

Passport found under bus seat

Nathan immediately began reaching out to staff across several bus interchanges to check if the passport had been found. However, initial searches turned up nothing.

The breakthrough came after Nathan contacted Seletar Bus Depot, where a bus captain reported finding a passport matching the description under a seat on Service 24, according to the SBS Transit post.

After verifying the man’s identity and confirming that the name matched the passport found, Nathan personally travelled to the depot to retrieve the document before handing it back to the relieved traveller at the interchange.

Thank-you letter

The man was said to be “overjoyed” upon receiving his passport, Nathan shared. He later followed up with a phone call several days later to personally thank him again.

SBS Transit also shared a photo of a thank-you letter from the man, identified only as "Mr. M", in their post.

In it, he wrote that he was “extremely happy and surprised” by the staff member’s prompt and efficient actions, and expressed deep gratitude for the help he received.

SBS Transit praised Nathan:

“We commend Nathan’s outstanding service and dedication, embodying our CARES values of helpfulness and dependability. Well done, Nathan!”

Top images via sbstransitltd/Facebook