Some may take the money inside and throw away the wallet into rubbish bin. Some may return it to the control station staff while other may try to search the wallet to find if there is any contact number of the owner.
Of course the last method is the most inconvenient as you may have to arrange to meet the owner. But that is also the fastest way and can saves the owner tons of efforts and time to recall what cards he or she has in the wallet and calling all the banks to cancel his or her cards and the banks re-issuing new cards.
Most importantly, it also reassure the owner that his important identification card is intact.
When someone lost his or her wallet, the first reaction is panic and try to recall where was the wallet lost. That means tracing back the journey and whatever things the person has done from the moment he or she stepped out of the house.
The person will most likely panic and unable to think clearly or miss out a detail or two.
A man picked up a wallet at a MRT platform seat.
As he was rushing to work, he just took the wallet and boarded the train without returning it to the control station.
He thought that there might be some contact details inside which he could call to inform the owner that his or her wallet is found.
It turned out to be a wallet of a student.
There was a student transport concession card, a game card, a bank's debit card and $16 cash.
A train of thoughts ran through his mind.
As he picked up the wallet at an interchange station, he was not sure if the owner stays nearby or making a transfer of train.
Would the student be able to recall where he dropped his wallet? If he returned it to the control station at the same station, what if the student could not remember where he dropped it and did not return to check with the control station?
It was early in the morning and the student must be probably on his way to school.
So he called the MRT hotline and asked what they would do if he returns the wallet to the control station?
After verifying the student concession card number and name, the staff told him that they will send it back to their HQ and wait for the owner to call as they do not keep contact detail of cardholder.
That means if the student never calls, he will never be able to find out that someone found his wallet until he reapplies for another concession card.
He decided to call the Ministry of Education to check where the student is studying so that he can return it to the school.
The staff at the hotline told him there is a record but they do not call the school.
If they were unable to reveal the school name, then they could have asked the teacher from the school to contact me instead.
But no.
In the end, he contacted the bank and told them he found a wallet with a debit card. He provided the card number and name on the card to the staff and asked them to get the owner to contact him directly as he picked up his wallet.
The staff agreed and proceeded to suspend the card temporarily for security reason.
Half an hour later, the student called the man and arranged to get back the wallet.
It turned out the student is staying in the same estate as the man and studying at a school nearby.