Guilty until proven —> proven what?

** this post may contain expletives language. 

14th Nov (Tue)

Came back home after picking lil’ one up from school and hubby showed me a message he had just received @ 3.38pm. 

Hi Mr XXX, 

I am Investigation Officer DP from XXX NPC. I am investigating into a case of Dishonest Misappropriation of Property. The incident is suspected to involve the driver of vehicle XXXXXXXX . May I check if you are the owner of XXXXXXXX?

Last week I have seek the condo management to leave a police message form at your unit, but to date no one called me back. I have tried to call you earlier, but to no avail.

I look forward to your reply, and require you to assist with my investigations.

Thank you

I was clueless 没有头没有尾, I didn’t even know that we had something slipped under the door. 😅Apparently hubby saw it and disposed it, so I had no idea what the content of the letter was. When I asked him when he picked up the note and what was written on it, he couldn’t remember. Yah! What big help I got. Since I wasn’t sure about the authenticity of the whatsapp message I dropped by MA to check with them if they were aware of such thing before I call the IO. MJ jokingly said “Wah..you like to come to our office. You came this morning (was dropping off aircon replacement form) and now you’re back again.” When I asked her what was it about she didn’t mention anything except it has to do with our car. Huh? So the people in MA already looked at me/us with suspicion 🤨 when I was conversing with them? Maybe they were observing my body language. 

I called IO back and explained that I’m the main user of the car though it’s registered under hubby, he received a message and if I could have an understanding what it’s all about. 

IO DP : “your car is Honda Fit right?” 

IO DP : “Someone drove your car on the 3rd between 10.30pm to 11pm.” 

I didn’t wait long and asked him back. Haha! 

I wonder who interrogate who. He spoke in 1 sentence and I questioned back in 3.

Me : “who? Who drove my car? “you mean the Guardhouse’s CCTV caught sight of my car leaving the condo?” 

Then he asked me to hold the line while he flip flip flip dunno what book. Maybe flipping thru his “How to interrogate criminals” detective manual coz he wasn’t expecting those questions from me. Jokes aside.. he needed to re-check the case.  

Huh? If having two bombshells dropping on me the same day on this ‘I dunno what the f@#*! is going on’ is not enough, this third one (driving car 10.30pm - 11pm) is the ultimatum. My car was locked when I next used it on Monday or even if we used the car on weekend (goash! I can’t even remember if we used my car that weekend) we found the car in it’s prim condition, my newly topped up cashcard with a value of $260+++ was not taken away, my $50 私房钱 left in the car was still there. Whatever thing he mentioned just made no sense to me.

He repeated the “driving car at 10.30pm to 11pm” So the Section 403 he was referring to was someone dishonestly misappropriating my property - driving my car? Shouldn’t I be the one reporting it then? Why did someone report on my behalf? And why choose my small car for a joyride when there are Porsche, BMW and all the expensive cars here? Though I must admit I like my small car so maybe the thief loves small car too. Anyway whoever stole my car for a ride never left any wiring out (saw this done on movies) and still can park my car back in condo never ditch it in the longkang or sea or the hugeass huge carpark near us? That person must be a kind-hearted thief. 

The first thing that crossed my mind “was there a hit and run” with my vehicle for them to spot my cars of all the cars here. Of course I didn’t ask him that but I repeated his sentence (drive car at 10.30pm to 11pm) with a BIG question mark ⁉️ If only I remember to count the number of times I frowned throughout that short 8 mins phonecall. #faceyogatopreventfrownlines#

“Um”, was his reply. You know I simply hate this kind of reply, just give me a YES OR NO. 有什么大惊小怪的 when cars come in and go even at 三更半夜 or 七早八早 timing so what made my car so special? Killed someone on the road; car was used to traffick humans; traffick drugs? Ok, must admit I watch too much Border Patrol, crime documentaries and perhaps reading Ann Rule’s books has made me more detective-in-thinking? More likely it’s me being overtly drama over a small thing; thinking too much into things and words 😉. For 大师陈军荣 to say that  “你的老婆想很多。头脑一直在想、一点事她会一直想。可是你(point to hubby)可以放心她会把东西做好好的、你什么都不用担心。” is 400% true. Hubby is simply bochap and can even continue to watch TV while I was still thinking about it. 

The date just sound so familiar “3rd Nov 3rd Nov”. Ahhh….. the day I met up with W and I reached home before 7pm for sure and “nobody drove out after that”. Reconfirmed with hubby if he took the car but we were absolutely sure nobody left the house after I came home that day coz we are lazy people, we never like to leave the house once we took our shower and already in clean clothes. 

IO DP : “I need you to help identify this person who came out from your car.” 

⁉️ First I had to keep pondering on the “someone drove your car between 10.30pm to 11pm”, now I have to suspect if my car is haunted and need a monk to bless my car

阿弥陀佛阿弥陀佛 阿弥陀佛阿弥陀佛

Apparition? Wah..I think you, the reader, must be laughing over my plight now 🤣.

Honestly I haven’t digest the 1st accusation kena another. Maybe this is the strategy that police use by dumping a lot of weird questions and then they expect you to answer yes or no without explaining and force you to succumb to pressure and then admit a crime. I think I’ll end up arguing with the police if I’m ever haul up to the station. I/we have nothing to hide anyway, we can meet - let this lonely aunty do some socialising - but he won't get anything out from us to identify our neighbours. What?!?! I don't even recognize my neighbours, I don't even know who lives above me until recently (and I've lived here for 8 years!) We're the only unit here on the first floor in this lobby, pretty lonesome people.   

Excuse me sir …. But now I have questions to your weird questions! 

Let’s digress this topic. My imagination ran wild how the four of us would respond if we ever get called for interrogation 

Hubby and Che-Che : monosyllabic replies. IO sure gek-sim coz cannot get any answers out from them and throw their notes onto the wall. But che-che who had recently did well to be recommended for provisional acceptance to do Masters in Criminology may also argue back with them factually and evidently. 

Lil’ one : cute little girl (actually not little anymore) Miss Friendly sits down. she ends up chatting like aunty in the wet market and goes out of topic. IO sure gek-sim coz she wasn’t even answering their questions. But at least maybe they made a new friend with her after office hours out of uniform 🤣 and lim bubble tea together. 

Me : I end up showing my RBF don’t-come-and-accuse-me-for -nothing face. IO ask, I answer but will not be satisfied if I only had to answer YES or NO unless the question is really that straightforward. Don’t mess with 老娘. I may ask questions back. IO gek-sim coz can’t get any questions from me but instructions on where else to direct investigation to, IO crushing his old notes and throw on the floor. 

No choice but he had to open the door and escort all 4 of us out. 

IO asked if we could go down to NPC to help in investigation. We didn’t reply as fast as I could cut his sentence as hubby needs to work and we need a timing after lil’ one is in school on the suitable date and timing. IO then suggested perhaps we could meet him at the Guardhouse instead.  We agreed to meet him the next day after I drop lil’ one in school. It’ll be so much easier for us, anyway why should we be inconvenienced since now you’re the one tor-long-ing us for help right? So are we the accused or the witness? 

After we hung up the phone I recalled a post in our residents FB page dated 4th Nov and asked hubby if it could possibly be related to this coz of the timing the IO mentioned is about the same : - 

I am from Block 2A. Last night i reach home at 10.55pm and accidentally left my new and sealed airpods max at the ledge on the picture below. I came out around 11.10pm and the item was no longer there.

Any kind soul may have pick it up. You can pm me.

I didn’t read the comments previously so opened up the comments thread where 1) The neighbours suggested to OP to seek MA advice since there are cameras around. 2) MA advised OP to make a police report. 3) The OP seeked for help from those who parked their car near the lobby for video footage. 

活该！Deserve to lose his things which probably cost around $700+(?). Who ask him to be so careless. 

If IO had wanted to ask to see if our car camera caught any footage of the direction of that lobby he would have phrased his sentence in another way right? I don’t park my car that far away towards that lobby which is at a corner and away from where I would walk to get to my house. And if he thinks my car is near enough to catch a footage then maybe lor.. coz ah-nia don't even remember where I parked the car the previous day would I remember where I parked 11 days ago? 

The IO came down the next day and re-checked the CCTV before our appointment. At 6+pm they saw one fatso lady carrying stuffs, mouth moving (maybe nagging at lil' one) and lil' one carrying lots of things as it was after school and therapy so had many bags alighting from the car. And we walked to another direction. It can't be us, maybe that someone happened to walk by our car. 

He called hubby to tell him he will drop our case. What case? Simi case? Did they mean they suspected us for stealing that airpod max? We're very honest people k! I'm sorry that you wasted 10-11 days targetting the wrong person when the thief had already opened and used the new headphones. If only you had checked the CCTV properly the first time, there's a possibility you might trace to the person sooner. Now probably also 早都逃之夭夭了. The bitch in me wanted to ask him "you said somebody drove my car, who drove my car? Why drop case? 😂I should charge them for causing me distress. 

I also wanted to rant in the FB post but later some people will say "sorry you had to go thru this but this is kampong spirit." Kampong spirit -  shit, if it happens to them will they have the same happy-go-lucky feelings?