Theft at coffee shop

On the afternoon of Dec. 4, 2001, not long before the breaking of the fast at about 5:10 p.m., I lost my laptop inside the Coffee Garden restaurant at Shangri-la hotel.

I reported the theft at the nearest police office and was told that it was not the first time that such an incident had occurred.

The Coffee Garden at that time was crowded. People were queued up for the buffet a few minutes before it was time to break the fast. My wife and I were directed to a table in the middle of the restaurant that had an aisle on two sides: table number 80. We decided to accept the table. I put my nice small leather bag on the floor with a S$4,200 Sony Vaio laptop type PCC-C1XA inside it.

After we looked at the menu I decided to have a look at the buffet before ordering. But I did not ask my wife to keep an eye on my bag, thinking that it would take just a few second to glance at the food. When I got back to my table, to my shock, I found that the bag was gone.

Obviously we were more than upset. Moreover, the hotel did not do enough to try to satisfy customers like us. We were more than willing to pay the price of dining there, not only for the quality food but also for the convenience and security. We expected the hotel to do more than just give a simple expression of regret.

FARIUS

Jakarta