According to eyewitness Mr. Deng, around 4:30 p.m. one afternoon, as bus K902 was approaching Xintang Station in Jinjiang, a female passenger who had just boarded realized her wallet was missing. She called out: “I know my wallet was just stolen. There’s not much money in it, but it has my ID and other essential documents. I can’t take the train home for the New Year without my ID. If you took it, throw it on the floor.”
Mr. Deng noted that the woman picked up her phone to call the police and added: “If the police come, no one will be able to leave. Whoever took it should return the wallet, and I’ll cancel the report.”
The entire bus joined in persuading the thief to drop it on the floor.
Mr. Deng, standing across from the woman, said that although no one knew who the thief was, everyone believed they were still on the bus. He joined in, saying: “It’s the end of the year, and times are tough for everyone. If you took the woman’s wallet, return it, and we’ll let it go.”
Upon learning about the stolen wallet, the driver pulled the bus over and said: “It’s wrong to take someone else’s belongings. The woman can’t go home without her wallet, so return it, or we’ll have to call the police.” Seeing the woman’s anxious face and no sign of the wallet, the passengers comforted her and urged the thief to have a change of heart.
The wallet was returned
A passenger announced two or three minutes later: “The wallet is on the floor.” The missing wallet was there, with all its contents intact. The woman was deeply moved by the passengers’ efforts to help her recover it. After retrieving it, she called the police to say it had been found and that she no longer needed their assistance.
“Thieves are despicable, but the collective effort of the passengers to call out to the thief had an impact,” Mr. Deng said. He shared the story online to promote the positive energy of helping others. The bus was stopped for about ten minutes, and although many passengers were in a hurry, no one complained. The collective call to action prompted the thief to abandon the wallet. The situation might have escalated without this united front, with the thief potentially acting more recklessly.
However, the thief made the right choice, likely due to two fears: the passengers’ overwhelming sense of justice and the potential consequences if the police arrived.
Thus, what seemed like philosophical warfare, a win-win situation, resulted in the owner recovering her belongings, and perhaps the thief had a change of heart and decided to turn over a new leaf. Ultimately, it served as a lesson for the public.
Follow us on X, Facebook, or Pinterest
