Ever been robbed here?

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Sad story. Some might gloat at my misfortune, others will understand. C’est la vie. Whatever that means.

I was robbed yesterday! NT$15,000 in cash. From my wallet. Was sort of on my way to the bank to deposit it, when stopped by GF’s apartment to say hello, and outside the lobby, there is a small brick wall, low, and I put my wallet there, for just a minute, to get something else out of my pocket. Then, I got distracted, probably by the GF, and when we left the place on my motorcycle, i completely forget the wallet was there.

30 minutes later, while in a 711, I realized, oops, the wallet is gone. Where did I leave? Brain cells remembered: that low brick wall outside Jennifer’s place.

Went back as million km per hour, and when i got there…

it was gone!

No wallet. Of course.

So I panicked and began knocking on some doors nearby to see if anyone maybe MAYBE had seen it. Everybody said sorry, formosa, we didn’t see the weiguolen’s wallet. Nor the cash inside it. Did you say 15,o00 dollars?

So I left. Went to a coffee shop I had been to earlier wondering if maybe i had misplaced the wallet there. Nope.

Then I called the GF again and when she got home, she told me, guess what, formosa, the wallet is back on the low brick wall. YES! I raced back to her place, opened the wallet and saw…

the cash had been “removed”…

although my ID cards and credit cards and all personal cards were still there. They didn’t rob my identity, but they took the cash.

Funny. I leave my wallet on a wall. I go back and it is NOT there. I go back again and it is THERE once again, minus the cash.

So who took it? It has to be one of the six people who live in the small apartment next to Jennifer’s place. They are the only ones who walk past that wall. Maybe, after seeing me so upset that I lost my wallet, they felt sorry for me and decided to at least give me back the wallet. Thanks. I do appreciate that.

But what should I do? Confront each of them with a rifle and ask did u take it? Or just chalk this up to MISSING IN TAIWAN and call it a day.

It was an expensive day.

But as my GF said: “dear, the money is not so important. the important thing is that we have each other, and our health and safety.”

Sure!

2

That sucks, formosa. Sorry about your misfortune. But, try to look at the good… you did get your wallet back.

Been robbed 3 times (home) and 2 times (wife’s store) here in Taiwan. Got us a real mean (well, not really) dog now, so don’t expect to be robbed at home again.

3

[quote=“tigerman”]That sucks, formosa. Sorry about your misfortune. But, try to look at the good… you did get your wallet back.

Been robbed 3 times (home) and 2 times (wife’s store) here in Taiwan. Got us a real mean (well, not really) dog now, so don’t expect to be robbed at home again.[/quote]

wow. when you say robbed, was it a matter of breaking and entering i.e. theft, or were you actually robbed from your person?

4

The taxman. He’s robbed me twice already. Sort of becoming a tradition.

Reminds me of some friends of mine when they were students in Liverpool in the mid-80’s. They were regularly robbed but the thing is, they used to phone up first and let them know. The police were never anywhere to be seen in Toxteth as their mere presence sparked of racial tensions. It must have been the UK’s #1 place to flee to if you were driving a stolen car. Owners could usually get their car back; in bits through the classified section of the Liverpool Echo.

But…sorry to hear about the wallet thing; knowing who might have done it and not being able to do much about it must be galling.

5

Bummer about the cash Formosa. I don’t think you’ll have much luck badgering the Gfs neighbours though.

Fortunately the one time I dropped my wallet someone had the decency to check the address and pop it into my letter box. Wasn’t much cash in it though and I do wonder what would have happened if there had’ve been. I was greatly relieved at the time as I was leaving the country the next day and after some shenanigans was expecting a hassle at customs and needed my ARC to argue I hadn’t overstayed.

The one thing I have had stolen was a brand new pair of Raybans that I left in a retaurant only to return 15 minutes later and find they were gone. For the most part I’ve been outrageously fortunate, both here and elsewhere, with thieves.

HG

6

yeh, the galling thing, for me, is that they returned the wallet. (Although I am mightly grateful they did!!!) Had the wallet never reappeared, I would never have known what had happened exactly, the wallet could have fallen off my cycle, off my jacket, left it somewhere else, the entire thing would have been a I DON"T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO IT BUT IT’s GONE AND IT"s MY OWN DAMN FAULT FOR BEING SO ABSENT MINDED…

…but the fact that the waller was gone and then later an hour later, reappears, makes me fuming angry. Because now I know someone in the bldg there did take the cash. And I keep going over the scenario in my mind; WHO?

The WHY I know: hey, I won the lotto, some bloke left some cash outside on the wall. So they took it. Shit happens.

But to replace the wallet AFTER I start making inquiries, that means only ONE THING: a guilty conscience and a nice gesture. Which i DO appreciate.

it’s just the mystery of of how the wallet was NOt there and then THERE again that galls me. No vacation to Thailand this winter! Damn.

7

go back and see the people in the building, and tell them your wallet was returned but no money. thank them for their help etc…then put on the sob story about how the cash was for a ticket back home over xmas to see a sick aunt/grandmother or whatever. could work…

8

AWOL, you have a heart of gold. thanks. i will try that. i doubt anyone will give the cash back to me, but it is possible they might slip it under my GF’s door one night when nobody is looking. IF that happens, I wil shout JOY to the heavens and you will hear about it here. But don’t wait up for it!

9

Be glad you got your ‘identity’ and credit cards back, that’s usually more trouble than loosing the cash.
And I doubt anyone will return the money, no matter what story you will tell …

10

Sorry formosa, but I don’t see the incident as unfortunate, I see it as fortunate. You left a wallet lying outside with NT$15,000 for a half hour. Someone stole it. That should come as no great surprise. But the thief was nice enough to return the other stuff when they could just as easily have thrown it away. Count yourself lucky.

11

Reminds me of Fred Frontier’s backpack! Gone, and, back again!

12

formosa: your money is lying in a ravine somewhere.

13

It seems quite common for lost wallets to reappear sans cash.

My husband was pickpocketed at one of the night markets about 2 years back. He had some 20000 in it not counting US$, spending money for travelling around the country during my visit. We didn’t discover this till the next morning as we paid for everything with small change in his pocket.

The wallet was intact except for the cash. Someone had seen his namecard in the wallet and left him a phonemail at his office sometime that night.

His colleagues told him it’s a syndicate type of thing - the people who return the wallet are very likely the same people who took it, and it’s too much hassle to actually take the credit cards, ID card and so on, and cash is awfully liquid. It was still a hassle to call up the credit card people etc just in case.

He now has his wallet chained to his belt. It wouldn’t deter someone desperate, but would make anyone else think twice.

And no, they won’t be returning the money.

14

I was with friends at Roxy Jr. a few years ago and one of my friends had just gotten paid and had NT$10,000 in her purse. I ran into two guys, one of whom was actually in a college class with me back in the US. Anyway, so this guy and his friend start playing “ha, ha I’ve got your purse” with this girl and then all of a sudden they have to leave. A little later, voila, she checks her purse and her money is gone.

I have had friends have money stolen from them at places like Texound, but Christ, think before you decide to drop e and party around with a wad of cash in your pocket.

From what I learned in my former life as a disco-dancin’ sex machine public relations officer at a high-tech company,

:sunglasses: , trade shows like Computex are hotbeds of theft. Companies are always having their stuff ripped off by well-organized gangs. Of course, CETRA would die if this was actully reported in a news story.

15

[quote]stevieboy wrote:
Reminds me of Fred Frontier’s backpack! Gone, and, back again!

[Jlick wrote]
formosa: your money is lying in a ravine somewhere.[/quote]

Not very nice Jlick. Someone remind me not to make fun of Jlick should he disappear.

16

that sucks, but you weren’t robbed. i wouldn’t even say your money was stolen, more like “found”

17

You know, Stevieboy, that is one of the first things i thought about. shades of the fred frontier story. goose bumps.

and yes, mother T, i do count myself lucky, and the person who got my loot lucky. it was his her lucky day. meant to be. absent minded man leaves wallet on wall, with $$$ inside. he she took what was theirs to take. i consider this a zen koan.

18

Although I am sorry to hear about your misfortune, I must agree with daltongang on this one…how can you say you were robbed when you left the wallet lying around? someone found it, took the cash that you so generously left and then was nice enough to put the wallet back. The same applies to someone leaving something at a cafe…if you leave it lying around then it is unclaimed property. Remember…‘finders keepers, losers weepers’

19

A taiwanese person told me this and this guy was pretty honest and decent

“If a person is stupid enough to let their money in a place where it gets stolen then tough. It is your repsonsbility to take care of it. You cannot depend and hope on the honesty of someone else”

20

actually its quite nice of them to return the wallet. i dont think most thieves would do that especially in most US cities.

its better than losing the cash and the wallet and id.