Danny's Ordeal In London

The blood must have drained off from Danny Foo's face so much that must have made him look ashen pale. That look of shock was not missed by Janet Susan Kent who was disembarking from the same tube coach with Danny at Charing Cross Station. Janet whom Danny guessed to be in her early fifties, inquired if anything was wrong with Danny. Danny while still in shock replied that somebody had picked his pocket and his wallet which was placed in his front hip pocket was missing. This was big trouble for Danny as in the wallet was his Credit card, Debit Card, student card and also his Malaysian identity card. Big trouble Danny thought as he won't be able to exit the station without his train tickets and he will be fined for not being able to produce the ticket. The fine will not only be expensive but there is no way that Danny could pay for it without any money on him.

Janet had a son who once was in a similar predicament while studying in a foreign country. Someone had helped his son and now she felt it was time to payback the good deed that the good Samaritan had done to her son.

Janet immediately asked Danny to list what items he had lost in his wallet and check his rucksack to see if his passport was intact. A loss of his Malaysian passport would only mean bigger trouble but fortunately for Danny, it was still there. So was his phone which was in the other pocket.

Together with Janet they walked to station's office and Janet being a local, her explanation was accepted by the authorities and Danny was able to exit the station without having to pay any fine. Just imagine how it would have been if Danny was alone. They may not even believe him.


Janet's help did not end there. With Danny penniless and having lost all his cards, there was no way for Danny to get going. She then took Danny to the police station to lodge a police report. The first thing that the police offered Danny was a phone to make calls to the cards company to block any transaction on the cards. How I wish our police would do the same to people who happened to experience similar situation in Malaysia. It is important that you keep a list of all the cards you have so that you can easily report them after losing them but never keep the pin numbers written and place together in the same wallet. You must also be able to answer all the security questions when they want to verify you so better don't take the security question lightly.


Having done all that with the local bank, Danny called home to his mum in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia to report the loss on the supplementary credit card given by them. Now all the cards that were lost will be useless to the thief. The thief will get nothing from Danny as there was not a penny in the wallet as Danny had just used the last 10 pounds he had in the wallet to pay the deposit for the room key at a hostel earlier. The only other thing of value could be the meal vouchers from Mac Donald which was good enough for three meals. Danny was actually going to the ATM to withdraw some cash. The only item of value was just the wallet itself as it was a good wallet.

Janet then took Danny to a cafe and ordered a pot of tea for both of them. Janet knew that a cup of tea could calm Danny's nerve and allow him to get over the traumatic experience faster.

Recapping the incident, Danny remembered being bumped by a group of people in the coach upon reaching Leicester Square Station as Danny was standing at the exit since his stop Charing Cross was the next stop. It was at the time of being bumped that the pickpocket had done the sleight of hands to pick his pocket. It was about 4 PM that evening and Danny wanted t visit the museums around Trafalgar Square when this thing happened.


In his two years of studying law at Cardiff University which was three hours drive South West of London., Danny had been very careful with his things especially the wallet. He would always carry them in the front pocket of his trousers and constantly feel for them with his hand to ensure its safety. Danny also never carry more than 15 pounds in his pocket. Any bigger purchase will be paid via the debit card or the credit card. So there was no necessity at all for him to carry any bigger amount of money.

Danny had graduated from Cardiff University in 2008 and was at the tail end of his stay in England. His mum and dad attended his Call-to the bar at Middle Temple in London recently but he opted to stay on longer to do a tour of England to see the other cities which he had never been to before he leave England for good. On this tour so far he had done Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and was currently doing London before doing Gloucester next.

It was while having tea with Janet that Danny called his friends who were residing in London for help. The first friend, a Brit, was out of London and wouldn't be able to help much. The second friend was a Malaysian who agreed to lend Danny 50 pounds and also help to buy the train ticket online for him to continue with his journey. Buying the tickets at the station would be too expensive and without any credit card, it was impossible for him to buy online.


Before parting, Janet insisted that Danny take 10 pounds from her to allow Danny to move around in London while waiting for his Malaysian friend to lend him the money and collect his train ticket from him. Such was Janet's kindness. To Danny, she was Godsend.


Danny had repaid all the loans that was extended to him and even the ten pounds that Janet gave him. As far as Janet was concerned, she had repaid the good deed of the person who helped her son while Danny still owe his debt till he finds another person to help.

To Janet Susan Kent, on behalf of Danny's family and Malaysians we would like to record a word of thanks for helping a complete stranger in distress.
Hopefully we all could learn a lesson or two from Danny's ordeal in London.

Here are a list of things Danny want to share with us:
1. Keep a list of the card numbers in another place.
2. Never keep the pin numbers in the wallet.
3. Keep some money elsewhere other than the wallet so that you can have access to some monies if your wallet get stolen.
4. When riding a tube, try to sit down and if you have to stand up, try to lean against a wall or something. Avoid standing at the exit unless you are arriving at your station.
5. Never assume that it will never happen to you. One day it might happen so better take note and be prepared.