A teenage boy who is said to have taken the purse of a woman at a playground in Punggol on Aug 5 has allegedly apologised and promised to pay her back.
Aided by his mother, the boy confessed to his misdeed, saying that he regretted having taken the woman’s purse, which contained $1,690.
Because the money has already been spent, Ms Nora, the 27-year-old single mum of five to whom the purse belonged, told crowdsourced news site Stomp that the boy and his mum promised to pay back $100 monthly as they are not well off either.
Ms Nora added that she will be reaching out to the police to ask if the case she filed after the theft can be dropped.
She had been at a Punggol Central playground on Aug 5 with her children when a boy, whom she described as being between 13 and 15 years old, asked her for directions to Punggol Bus Interchange.
Before talking to the boy, she had placed her purse in her stroller bag, which was hanging from the stroller.
The money taken from her was what she received from the Social Service Office (SSO)’s financial assistance, which she described as $1,690 in denominations of $50.
The theft was devastating for Ms Nora, who is unemployed because she needs to take care of her baby, who has separation anxiety.
The money stolen from her “was the only income I had to sustain my family’s monthly expenses. I am now left with $0 in my bank,” she told Stomp, adding, “That day, I sat down in front of my house door and cried my heart out while thinking back about the high possibility that the boy had stolen my purse. I remembered how he ran off quickly.”
She shared her story with Stomp, which published it on Aug 12, in the hopes of finding the culprit and getting her money back.
After the story was published, a woman who said she was the boy’s mother reached out to Ms Nora, saying she found the purse under her son’s pillow, but there was no money left.
She texted Ms Nora, saying, “U have son and I’m sure u will do anything for ur son not go jail.”
And while some netizens commenting on the original Stomp story have been suspicious that Ms Nora may have been trying to appeal for sympathy or financial aid, she said she just wanted the thief to be caught.
The unkind comments have been hard for Ms Nora, who is already in a tight financial situation.
When the boy and his mum came forward with apologies, however, she was ready to forgive and move on.
“I considered this case closed. I do have sympathy for the boy and I am doing this for this mother who is pleading for her son,” she told Stomp, adding that on Aug 13, the boy and his mum returned her empty purse.
“The boy admitted to what he did and I decided to give him a chance. He apologised and told me he regretted it. They also promised to pay me back as soon as possible. I will contact the police and ask if I can drop the case.
I feel relieved that there is some sort of closure. Although I couldn’t get back the amount I lost, I still feel blessed that my five children are with me. We have been struggling so much after that incident and I feel grateful to have such understanding children.
I may be penniless now and don’t have anything to sustain my coming days but I pity the boy’s mother more as they are needier than me. Money is not important anymore now, as long as I have some sort of closure.” /TISG
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