Law on found items

The Police told me that I am not allowed to keep found items and that these items have to be reported to a neighborhood police station. The officer asked, "Did I consult a lawyer about my Lost & Found portal?"

I am not aware that there is a law regarding the return of found items to the Police. The Police officer was not able to point out the law to me anyway. If the Police does not know, how do you expect the citizens to know about such a law?

I searched the Internet to look for the existence of such a law in Singapore. I could not find any mention of it. I know that there is a law against theft of property. If somone finds a property that could be traced to the owner, e.g. car, computer, mobile phone, and keeps the property or sells it away, the finder could be guilty of stealing the property. In that case, it is better for the finder to report the found item and hand it over to the Police to be kept in its centralised store.

But the Police should make it clear to the public that they can report a lost item to be traced. The Police needs an efficient matching system. Perhaps they can use my portal or create one of their own.

There is the concept of "finders keepers". I believe that if an item is lost and it is not possible for the finder to trace the owner, the finder is entitled to keep the item. However, if the owner comes back one day to claim the item, and assuming that the owner is able to prove ownership, then the item has to be returned to the owner.

Tan Kin Lian