theiving neighbors
By liaamur
@liaamur (417)
Philippines
April 6, 2009 7:39am CST
there is no way to introduce this: i lost my cellphone yesterday.
at least, that's what i thought at first. i came down from our apartment (which is on the 2nd floor) to put out some trash (my husband was not at home), talked to some friends on the way back, and when i got home i couldn't find my phone. i thought i merely misplaced it. then i had to use my flash drives (one 4G, one 2G, one 1G) and it wsa nowhere to be found, either. i thought it weird and told my husband, and he started talking to neighbors that night. we found out that it was stolen, not lost. another neighbor saw this kid, which is also from the neighborhood, on the roof of one house which is level to the floor of our terraces (his and mine). it turned out that this kid has been suspected of stealing before. a girl lost her cellphone and had suspected him for stealing it. another time, this kid asked for some stuff from another neighbor, the neighbor had to go to the kitchen to get what he asked for and when she came back, her cellphone (which was on top of a drawer) was gone. what surprised me is that we were the first ones to report this to the police.
upsetting that some people just had to steal in order to make money. sad that the theif was only a minor, 17 years old. shocking that people had never handed this over to the proper authorities, the crime lost to memory.
there was a common saying from around my place in the province: it is better to have a (evil) witch for a neighbor, than to be living near a thief; the witch respects the people around her, but the thief attacks them.
disturbing, what kids do these days.
('.')
8 people like this
21 responses
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
correct, and my husband would agree with you. he wants to charge the parents because it was their responsibility that the incident happened. that is what makes me sad, thinking about what the kid has done: made me ask myself what could have been happening at home that he did that.
2 people like this
@adigreat (33)
• India
7 Apr 09
though at first instance, blaming parents for the wrongdoings of their children seems right but in today's world its not necessary that the parent's ignorance or strictness caused the child to do mischievous things.
There are external factors in society as well that brings about courage to do such things amongst them.
1)Computer games which gives an active and realistic role for the player(thief series);
2)Movies like ocean series;
3)friend circle (remember a few months of bad friendship can render the years of moral teachings of parents useless)
and i feel that amongst all, third factor should be blamed the most...
2 people like this
@shewolf52002 (1214)
• United States
6 Apr 09
I totally disagree with you. We had five children whom we taught very well the evil of theft. For instance when my daughter was very little she picked up a piece of candy from those big bins, where you can mix and match? Anyway, she was punished for taking that piece of candy and we paid for it. That being said one of my children still decided to shop lift. He was a young teenager at the time and we were mortified, we forced him to take back the items he stole (baseball cards) and face whatever punishment the manager wanted to give. The point is you can teach them and provide all you can and sometimes they will steal anyway. He does not steal now as an adult thank God.
I would be more upset with the people who knew he had stolen before and not reported it.
2 people like this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
6 Apr 09
Hi liaamur~ You didn't say how he was able to steal your phone?
And did you get it back? I sure hope you did~! And I hope that
you will watch out from now on, and unfortunately trust
no one! I don't trust anyone, even my good friends who are
neighbors! I had one of my "good friends" who is a neighbor
steal a fan when I was taking a shower! She grabbed the fan
and took it to her apartment! I didn't notice that is was
missing for quite awhile! And one day when I was in her
apartment, which she almost never let me into I saw the fan
and said, she had one just like mine? And then soon after found
one of mine missing! We are no longer friends and she denied
taking it! Like I said, trust no one ever!
1 person likes this
@Linda4ualways (2282)
• United States
7 Apr 09
Hi there Opal! How are you? It's sad not being able to trust people. But I am with you. I rarely trust anyone and that includes family. I love them but can't trust them
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
yesterday, some of the neighbors noticed that when the kid got home from somewhere, he was bringing a lot of new stuff. it would have been a small consolation to me if he brought home receipt for school tuition--still does not justify what he did, but would have explained why he did it.
1 person likes this
@lologirl2021 (5542)
• United States
6 Apr 09
Pretty rude what kids do these days. I was 17 once and another 17 year old girl from school stole stuff out of my back pack that was sitting on the floor next to my desk and i had no idea that she was doing it until the kid behind me told me when she got up to go use the restroom then she got caught with stealing it and was in big time trouble. It's not right and its very wrong of people to think of even doing it. I hope that you do get your phone back and that is works correctly. Hopefully the police will talk to the young minor and suggest something else for him to do around the neighborhood.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
more than rude, it is disturbing--to think about what they would become when they get older. it was good that the girl got caught. i hope she didn't do anything like that again.
i was supposed to go to the police tomorrow to request summons. we have to summon the kid and his parents, because he's a minor. i heard talk from our neighbors that the father just learned last night about what his son did, and was shouting at him. i hope i get my phone back so i wouldn't have to pay for affidavit of loss for my sim replacement. i needed to keep the number. grrr..
1 person likes this
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
10 Apr 09
That is terrible! I was thinking that maybe you have left your door open or something. It is an awful thing when you can not feel safe and comfortable in your own home. It is worse when the people around you have accepted this behavior as a part of their daily life and not done anything about it. Hopefully you can move someplace better.
@Canellita (12029)
• United States
12 Apr 09
It is too bad that your compound isn't enclosed like one of those gated communities.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
11 Apr 09
i haven't thought of closing my door--i was only taking out trash! that's what's sad... i've always felt protected by the landlord, and i live in a sort of compound, a group of houses owned by this landlord, it's just that this kid just looked--and found--a way to get through, and my house! cr*p.
:(
1 person likes this
@csrobins (1120)
• United States
7 Apr 09
Oh my word...that is terrible. Why would people not report it? Do they think it is just not worth the effort because the kid is long gone? That's very gutsy of the kid. I would never havethought to close and lock my door while taking out the trash, who knows what he will do next.
@csrobins (1120)
• United States
13 Apr 09
Yeah, my mom's car was broken into and some stuff stolen while it was in her own driveway and my parents filed. Especially if you know the kid and you have witnesses. I would do something at least scare him and let him know he can't get away with this forver.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
11 Apr 09
exactly. it's creepy to think that someone has been watching your move, waiting for the when you have your attention on something else other than your home. i am paranoid now, i kept watching my back everytime i come home. do you think i could file for damages, with all these?
@riyasam (16556)
• India
6 Apr 09
oh ,hope the police sent him for some counselling.actually,this theiving starts when one is much younger,stealing pencils or pens from colleagues and if parents or the guardian takes a serious view of it at that time,then the issue wouldnot have aggravated so much.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
7 Apr 09
he's had a lot of friends, i believe, and with all that's accessible to kids these days, i'm positive that there are other reasons, maybe not known to the parents. but he's still a kid and lives with the mum and dad, and if the parents are just open enough to the boy, he could have been guided more closely.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
11 Apr 09
that's what i'm thinking, too. i wouldn't if and when he might strike again, and i'm losing sleep over it. i don't like having to peek through my windows just to check if someone's watching. i still hope there is just this kid, but i couldn't help thinking, "who else?"
grrr...
@vicki2876 (5636)
• Canada
6 Apr 09
I have thieving neighbors too. I have to have everything outside locked up tight or else it will be taken. Right down to dollar store balls and even my tomatoes have been taken. My car has gotten egged and someone set something on fire and left it at my door. I have found "papers and even jars of stuff" in the yard. Broken bottles in the yard and people let their big dogs roam around leaving big stuff in my yard. The thing that annoys me is that I am from the "big city" and have moved here to very small rural community and have been more a victim of crime here then the city. Yet people keep saying how it is safer and better to raise children here then in the city. That is just not true. Thieving is everywhere and I just hate it!
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
6 Apr 09
That's a very true fact Vicki. I think some parents get it into their heads that it's okay to let their kids run free, but kids will create their own entertainment if they aren't given direction. It's a difference in parenting. You move to a smaller community to help keep your children safer from influance, not because you don't have to keep an eye on them.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
i'm sorry to hear about what happened. it IS difficult, i have had a lot of problems when i lived in the province than here in the city, until now. what's more, when you talk to your neighbors (in the rural community), they accuse you of being superficial, city-like, and proud.*hmph*
@dorisday1971 (5657)
• Philippines
7 Apr 09
Better keep your house secured because that thief will not stop until he gets more valuable things from you. It is better also if you catch him so you can bring him to the authorities.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
11 Apr 09
i have been keeping my camera ready for whenever he tries to 'observe' our place again. i've never expected anything like this to happen in the first place, i felt quite secured and protected by the landlord. too bad he wasn't there during the incident. :(
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
6 Apr 09
I'm amazed that no one reported this before. Yes we can blame it on the youth of today, but if a neighborhood doesn't report it, then they are giving this kid the green light to come back again and again.
Yes, he might be a bad kid, but I think it's sad when something is stolen that people don't report it to the police. How you supposed to stop the crime if no one knows about it?????
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
true.
i feel sorry for the neighbors who have fallen victim to this kid, but i think it was still their fault for not reporting what happened to them. i feel sorry for the parents who would have just learned about what happened because of my report, but i also feel it is their responsibility to check on their kid in the first place. i feel sorry for what might happen to the kid, but he's 17 and should have been, at least, afraid enough to worry about what might come out of everything he's done.
@benny128 (3615)
•
6 Apr 09
oh no sorry to hear that,
sounds like some of the kids around where you live need a good well i wont say tho am sure you know what I mean.
Tho its a fact of life I guess some people dont value other peoples belongings, and I guess it also comes down to parenting as some parents dont care in this day and age.
Hope you get it back.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
7 Apr 09
i'm trying to get back my phone, the sim which contains the number, i think he destroyed.
i don't know about the other kids around me, at least in my compound the kids are pretty okay. just this neighboring kid from outside our walls. he does need a good...whatever it is that would make him understand the gravity of what he's done and been doing.
thanks for your concern.
@feathers26 (865)
• Philippines
7 Apr 09
It is really a sad story to hear that it is just from
your neighborhood that stole your cellphones as well as
your neighbor's cellphone. I hope this will be solved soon.
I also experience being stolen a cellphone, it was only our employee
that took it.
@Linda4ualways (2282)
• United States
7 Apr 09
It is totally disgraceful liaamur
And I never thought I would want a witch living next door to me but after reading what you wrote, I wouldn't mind a witch. Thieves don't care who they take from; they will even take from their families. It's just sad and it seems that these young kids would rather steal than to look diligintelly for a job and get the things they want that way.
I don't know. Maybe I'm the one who is doing things wrong by working and paying for the things I want.
Take care and God Bless!
And I never thought I would want a witch living next door to me but after reading what you wrote, I wouldn't mind a witch. Thieves don't care who they take from; they will even take from their families. It's just sad and it seems that these young kids would rather steal than to look diligintelly for a job and get the things they want that way.
I don't know. Maybe I'm the one who is doing things wrong by working and paying for the things I want.
Take care and God Bless! @lynnemg (4529)
• United States
7 Apr 09
I think you did the right thing by reporting it. It's a shame that a 17 year old finds it necessary to steal for whatever the reason may be in his mind. The other neighbors probably just wanted to put it behind them and not deal with it any further, or they weren't sure what really happened. Either way, I think that had it been reported before, maybe it wouldn't have happened so many other times!
I think it is also pretty sad that the kid wasn't raised to know better, or at least had it instilled enough that he would have considered stealing in the first place.
@dmrone (746)
• United States
6 Apr 09
It is sad and maddening to see children doing things such as stealing. It shows they have no respect for others or themselves. It should have been reported to the authorities when it first started happening. Hopefully something or someone can help get this young person on a better path.
@liaamur (417)
• Philippines
6 Apr 09
i do hope something will come up with my report, when i finally meet with the parents, and that he could learn something out of this experience. i have not realized my neighbors had been suffering the same thing for a long time now and not a person did something to end it.
@clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
6 Apr 09
If I were your neighbors, no way this kid going to get away from these. He should be aprrehended, and sent to the juvenile. He should respect other people's property, and he should be in school instead of thieving other people's stuff. You might need an extra lock to lock your home before you go anywhere.
