Introduction to Lost and Found Singapore Police

If someone stole your property in Singapore, do not lose hope because the lost and found Singapore police can help you recover it. There is the Singapore Police Force, which is an organization handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Their goal is to stop, block, and detect crime to make sure that Singapore is always safe. They focus on Police work Frontline Policing, Investigation, Counter and E-services, Public Security and Order, and Community Engagement. You can come to them to report your lost property, and the criminal can be caught. With their help, you are going to feel safe and confident that you can still recover your property.

However, before you contact them, you must first know a couple of important points when you report lost property. Read on to know more about it.

You Lost or Have Misplaced the Property Report

If you misplaced your property report, you might not be able to claim your property. When this happens, the Commissioner may cause your property to put up for sale to the public. They can also have it auctioned. The proceeds will go to the Consolidated Fund. If it is cash, it will be forfeited and then be paid to the Consolidated Fund.

If the Commissioner thinks it is necessary, the property will be destroyed or thrown in a way that they see fit.

Someone Has Stolen Your Property

If someone stole your property, you must lodge a police report and tell them where it was stolen. You can also make a Lost Property Report where they reported your missing property.

In case you were not able to write the serial number, model, and brand of the item in the report, you can still have them look for it. You must also lodge your stolen property within seven calendar days.

You can use the e-services if your stolen item is a camera, laptop, mobile phone or device with an IMEI number, watch, and a portable media player.

For other properties, you must personally go to the SPF office.

Unclaimed Property and Estates of Intestates

Based on the Estates of Intestates, unclaimed properties are not kept in the SPF office forever.

If a lost property has been deposited with a police officer in the station, they will dispose of it in any of these ways:

Cash property must be paid in the owner’s deposit account unless it requires assistance to identify its owner. It is established for this, and the Police Force’s custody will deem this as lost property.
If there is a person who appears to be the owner, after meeting the requirements of the Commissioner, the property must be returned to them. The exception is if the person cannot be found after being injured, or does not exercise their right to claim their lost property.

If someone appears to the Commissioner before the year ends from when the property was deposited with the police after it has become unclaimed property, two things can happen:

If it is still in their custody, the Commissioner might give the authority to return the property to the owner.
If the property was cash or the sale proceeds went to the Consolidated Fund, an authorization by the Commissioner might be granted so the person can get a refund.
The person who found the property has nothing to do with the property because they found it. if a police officer found a lost property while on duty, they also do not have any relations to the property.

The Found Property Drop Box

You can use the found property drop box at the NPP.

If you found an item, there are necessary steps to take.

You need to give your contact details and identification.
Enter the date, time, and where you found the item.
There is a tamper-proof bag you must use for the item before dropping it in the box.
Scan the item and then deposit it in the machine.

You can find the drop boxes in Radin Mas, Marsiling, and the West Coast.

The Found and Unclaimed Property Office (FUPO)

The Found and Unclaimed Property Office (FUPO) that is in the Police Logistics Base at Hemmant Road might be where your lost item can be found. The supervisor is Rossidah Bakri, and it is her job to look through the items so they can be matched with their owners.

Every year, there are more reports of missing items. The storage is the size of two flat boarding rooms. She checks at least 40 items per day, and most of the items found can be resolved daily.

She pieces clues together by using their owner’s identity cards, documents or passports, to looking through the lost reports database. It greatly outnumbers the reports about found items.

If you lose an item in Singapore, you must remember this information so you can ask the help of the SPF.