“Better late than never” – M’sian Retrieves Her Missing Phone 13 Months After Losing it in the LRT

Retrieving your missing phone after losing it in public can be tough unless a good samaritan goes through all the trouble to return the device to its rightful owner. What if you’ve lost your mobile phone for over a year? Would you still anticipate its “return” despite having a new phone?

Back in December 2021, a Malaysian, Sharifah lost her phone on the LRT train, to which she reported the matter but unfortunately, she never got her device back.

She assumed that it was a “farewell”.

Fast forward 13 months later, she was contacted by a man who told her that he had her phone! 

Thinking it was a call from RapidKL, Sharifah joked and asked if this is “the Anthony Loke effect” where things are being done effectively.

Y’all… 13 months ago I accidentally left my iphone on the LRT. Reported it but never heard back, so I assumed that I lost it forever. But! A few days ago RapidKL called saying they recovered it. I finally got it back today. Is this the @anthonyloke effect??

— Sharifah Yasmin (@sharifahyasmiin) January 2, 2023

In her Twitter post yesterday (January 2), Sharifah clarified that RapidKL staff was not involved in the search for her phone. Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Sharifah said her phone was found by a security guard in KL months ago, who passed the phone to his supervisor, Aiman recently.

Why did the guard take such a long time to pass the device to his supervisor? 

According to Sharifah, Aiman said it may stem from the fear that the guard may be implicated in the theft.

“I personally think we need to create an environment where staff feel comfortable voicing things out directly without potential repercussions. Either way, better late than never,” Sharifah told us.

The phone, which had been missing for 13 months, was immediately charged and the “hunt” for the emergency contact began.

For illustration purposes only

When asked how did Aiman reach out to her, Sharifah told WORLD OF BUZZ that Aiman googled her name from her emergency details and found her sister’s phone number. However, Sharifah did not ask Aiman further about it as she had another urgent matter to attend to.

“My husband was in the emergency ward on Sunday (January 1), my sister communicated with him until we arranged for the phone delivery,” Sharifah explained.

As of today (January 3), Sharifah said that she is still attempting to access her phone as it has been locked due to multiple attempts to log into the phone in the past, which were not made by her.

“Initially, I thought I left it on the LRT and RapidKL found it, but now I wonder if someone pickpocketed me since they tried accessing my phone then dumped it in KL.”

Regardless, Sharifah said that she was just glad that she retrieved her missing phone.

Many of us would give up waiting for a lost-something a few months, or even weeks down the road. For Sharifah to retrieve her phone 13 months after she lost it is definitely a miracle! Do you think somebody tried to snatch her phone and eventually ditched it due to the failed attempts to log into her phone?

Also read: M’sian Gets Her Handbag Stolen in Penang Public Toilet While She Was Pooping