It was 6pm on a Saturday, and Tanjong Pagar Town Council cleaners Howlader Sentu and Nurul Islam Mannan Miah were off duty.
They received an alert from the town council that a resident had lost some jewellery and were told to “keep a look out” for the items, which had been discarded accidentally four to five days ago.
The two Bangladeshi cleaners immediately went to the bin centre near Block 170, Stirling Road, to look through a pile of boxes they had cleared from the nearby Housing Board blocks.
After trawling through the rubbish for about three hours, they found a jewellery box hidden among trash within a carton used to store a television.
It was 10pm by the time they returned the jewellery to the owner.
The latter was so delighted that he was “dancing”, said Mr Nurul Islam, 30.
It is estimated that the jewellery recovered is worth $45,000.
There were “gold and diamonds”, and many items in the box, including gold chains, bracelets, lockets and rings, The Straits Times understands.
The two workers received a token of appreciation from the owner, they said, but were not comfortable revealing the amount as “they did not do it for the reward”.
Both said they were happy to have found the jewellery and returned the items to the owner.
They received a commendation from the town council as well as supermarket vouchers.
On his Facebook post last Friday, Tanjong Pagar MP Melvin Yong said: “This afternoon, I presented letters of commendation to two of our Tanjong Pagar Town Council cleaners, Nurul Islam and Sentu, for their honesty in reporting and returning $45,000 worth of jewellery to the rightful owner.”
Mr Sentu, 26, came to Singapore to work when he was 20. His monthly pay of $700 supports seven sisters and three brothers back home, he said.
Mr Nurul Islam is married and has a six-year-old son.
chuimin@sph.com.sg
