Oppss, not the phone..
“I panicked the whole night,” Woon Ban Chee, a 22-year-old man from Teck Whye, shared in an interview with AsiaOne on Monday (Oct 28). He thought he had lost his month-old iPhone 16 Pro Max forever after mistakenly throwing it into the rubbish chute.
“I only realised it a few minutes later. I was like, ‘Did I just throw my phone away?'” Woon explained. Despite recently resigning from his job as a waiter to care for his sick mother, Woon took immediate action by contacting Chua Chu Kang Town Council and the waste disposal company for assistance.
The anxious night led Woon to seek help from the Apple Store on Orchard Road in the hopes of getting a replacement. However, he was left disappointed as they did not grant him a new device. Fortunately, Woon was reunited with his prized possession when diligent workers from the e-waste recycling firm Alba discovered the iPhone at their Tuas plant.
“[There were] no scratches and dents. The case was very smelly, so I threw it away. Everything else is normal,” Woon described after retrieving his phone. “I now clean my phone with alcohol wipes every day. It’s a lesson learnt.”
Expressing his gratitude for the workers who found his phone, Woon offered them “anything” as a reward, which they graciously declined. “I’m so happy they found it in time. $2,900 could be gone just like that,” Woon added. “I’m sharing my experience to thank them.”
