Feeling good about leaving the phone alone

epa05432915 A gamer sporting a shirt with an image of fictional creature Pikachu plays Pokemon Go on his mobile phone near the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 20 July 2016. The Sydney Opera House put Pokemon lures in the area for two hours on 20 July, inviting players to come to the forecourt to search for the fictional creatures. Pokemon Go, a Global Positioning System (GPS) based augmented reality mobile game, was released in Australia, New Zealand and the USA on 06 July 2016. EPA/DAVID MOIR AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

RECENTLY, as I was getting down the monorail at the Hang Tuah station in the evening peak hours, I heard a lady screaming “pencuri, pencuri (thief)”. I noticed the screaming coming from a petite teenager who was clutching a handbag in one hand and a shopping bag and mobile phone in the other. She was a victim of snatch theft but, if I can put it bluntly, she deserved it.

It is disturbing to observe the mobile phone obsession in our midst and how distracted people can be as a result of this. They are vulnerable and are good targets for handbag snatchers and even gropers.