Migrant workers help mother-daughter pair search high and low for lost violin, phone

The New Paper
Jun 14, 2023

When a mother and daughter lost their belongings at a basketball court in Hougang, they sought help from two migrant workers working nearby.

Little did they know the workers would spend the next four hours searching high and low on their behalf, even rummaging through garbage cans in the process. 

Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao, the mother, Zhang, said she and her daughter, 11, lost their violin and phone at a basketball court near Hougang Street 51 at around 7.30am on June 9. 

It was right after her daughter’s violin practice, and the pair had placed the instrument and phone on a nearby bench before heading to exercise.

When they returned half an hour later, they discovered their belongings missing.

Calls made to the lost phone went unanswered as the pair scoured the area.

The 45-year-old mother then tried tracing the location of the phone using another phone, and sought help from nearby construction workers. 

One worker agreed to accompany the mother and daughter in their search.

As the mobile tracking system could only pinpoint the location of the lost phone within a 1km range, the trio then searched a 17-storey HDB block floor-by-floor.

Zhang said the worker was worried someone would dispose of their belongings, and even searched through trash cans and chutes on the ground floor.

When Zhang and her daughter left to lodge a police report over the lost items, the lone worker roped in a compatriot and continued searching.

In the end, after four hours of searching, passers-by who found the missing items called Zhang and returned her belongings.

"The weather was very hot at the time, but (the workers) didn't complain. Although they were sweating, they were still enthusiastic about helping us find the lost items," Zhang said. 

A few days later, mother and daughter visited the construction site with food and drinks for the workers. 

"My daughter also realised that when help is needed, there are still many kind-hearted people willing to lend a helping hand.”