She had accidentally left her carry-on luggage at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and only remembered it when she was already back in Singapore.

When she returned to KL two days later, the bag was found thanks to a thorough five-hour search by airport police.

The woman, identified as Wang Liyue (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that she had flown to Osaka, Japan to attend a conference in December.

As she could not get a direct flight back to Singapore, she opted to fly to KL before returning home via car.

Said Wang, who works in academic publishing in the field of biology: “After touching down at the airport on Dec 20, I had to go through two security checks. After passing through the first check, I was busy preparing for the second check.”

As the driver of the vehicle was getting impatient, Wang hurriedly rushed out, bringing only her check-in luggage with her.

“I believe my friend had helped me to carry my bag to the security checkpoint, hence after it was done I didn’t take it with me,” said Wang.

She only realised to her horror that her bag was missing once she returned home.

Wang asked a friend for help to search for the missing piece of luggage and had also planned to make the drive back to the KL airport. 

According to Malaysia news site The Sun, Wang was concerned about a USB drive which contained her academic research report.

She told Shin Min that due to the peak travel period at the time with jams at the land checkpoints, she was only able to do so two days later on Dec 22.

At the lost and found at KLIA, she was told that her bag was not in their records. The employees then got help from the airline’s ground staff, who advised her to file a report with the airport police.

“At that moment, I thought it was a hopeless situation as I assumed they would just go through the motions,” she was quoted by The Sun as saying.

After looking through CCTV camera footage and a five-hour search, Wang’s bag was eventually found.

An elated Wang told Shin Min: “The bag was actually still at the security check area. This is my first time passing through KLIA and I’m very grateful to the police for doing their best to help me.”

Speaking to Sinchew Daily, Wang expressed surprised at how police officers had meticulously reviewed the surveillance footage and physically combed through the airport.

She was quoted as saying: “This experience has strengthened my trust in KLIA’s security measures and the integrity of its staff.”

Naming several officers whom she described as “outstanding”, she added: “I extend my heartfelt thanks to the officers for their hard work and commitment.”

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candicecai@asiaone.com