Picking up casino chips results in a 4-month prison sentence for the tourist.

Kahn332

"From time immemorial, there's been a saying, 'Finders, keepers.' Today, I realized it's because there used to be no surveillance cameras. An Indonesian tourist at Marina Bay Sands Casino in Singapore 'picked up' casino chips and cashed them, and today he has been convicted by a Singaporean court and sentenced to 4 months in prison.
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I believe this Indonesian traveler might not be considered a thief. Here's how it happened: The Indonesian tourist, named Silitonga (27 years old), arrived at Marina Bay Sands Casino on March 26th. He unexpectedly found 8 chips worth 3,000 Singapore dollars each outside the Ruby Room, which had been accidentally dropped by casino staff.

According to reports, Silitonga's every move was captured by the casino's CCTV cameras. After picking up the chips, he didn't immediately return them to the casino. Instead, he went straight to the counter to exchange the chips for cash and then promptly left the casino. After leaving the casino, he went directly to Changi Airport to purchase a ticket, intending to leave Singapore for Indonesia as soon as possible. However, things didn't go as planned, and the flight to Jakarta from Singapore for that day was sold out.

Upon realizing that he couldn't leave Singapore immediately, Silitonga had to spend the night at the airport. During this time, he contacted friends to help him transfer 2,000 Singapore dollars from the cash he had exchanged into his bank account. Silitonga used various methods, including bank transfers and Western Union, to send the money to his girlfriend and friends' Indonesian bank accounts.

On March 29th, Silitonga was arrested at the immigration checkpoint at Changi Airport. The police questioned him multiple times about the whereabouts of the money, but he refused to answer.

At this point, many people, like me, might have the same question. Isn't finding something not considered theft? Why was he sentenced to 4 months in prison? Well, Singaporean law stipulates that dishonest misappropriation of someone else's property can result in a maximum prison term of 2 years or a fine, or both.

I remember a friend once asked me what I would do if I found a large sum of money. Without hesitation, I said I would either hand it over to the police or wait for the owner to claim it because I would be concerned that the owner might have an urgent need for it (medical expenses, for instance). Of course, I was able to answer so readily because I hadn't found such a large sum of money. So, what would you do in a similar situation?"

Indra55

So, it's better for humanity not to let greed harm ourselves.

Jatin255

With surveillance everywhere, perhaps we should change our habit of wanting to 'pick up' things.

Iti9

I think since it was found, it shouldn't lead to imprisonment, right?

Shri

Stealing chips is something new to me; chips are usually carefully guarded, right? But there are often cases of losing phones and wallets in the casino.

raman

What he did falls under the category of claiming someone else's property as his own, which is definitely not acceptable. Unfortunately, he happened to be in a country with strict laws, so it turned out to be quite unfortunate for him.

shubham

Don't the negligent casino staff bear any responsibility at all?