There were already two boxes and one large piece of luggage stuffed inside.
One more item remained - a small black nylon luggage bag measuring about 30 cm long and 15cm wide.
But on 13 Oct night, Comfort cab driver Mr Tham Yen Yoong, 63, decided to pack in that one more item, as he had done many times before.
The boot could not be closed, but he used two pieces of elastic rope to tie the cover down.
But while driving from Changi Airport Terminal One to Thomson Road, the black bag fell out. It has yet to be found.
Said Mr Tham in Mandarin: 'I've been a cab driver for more than 20 years and this is the first time such a thing has happened to me.
'I made sure that the rope was tied tightly and that the items in the boot were securely fastened.'
The three female Indonesian passengers were in their 20s.
Even as he drove off, he had a thought: What if something dropped out?
He said: 'I kept turning around during the journey just to check that everything was all right. I also made sure I drove slowly. Anyway, I couldn't drive too fast because the vehicle was heavy.'
His worst fears were confirmed when he stopped to drop off the first of his three passengers at Thomson Road, near Novena Square.
'I immediately asked the passenger to get back into the cab. We retraced the route from Thomson Road to Changi Airport twice but did not manage to find the luggage,' he said.
He had picked up the passengers at about 10.20 pm. By the time they decided to give up on the search, it was about 2am.
He then ferried the passengers to a police station where they lodged a report. He also reported the incident to his company ComfortDelGro.
The cabby said that his rear view was partially blocked by the open boot.
When asked if such a practice was dangerous, Mr Tham replied: 'We (cab drivers) don't have a choice if the passenger wants to take only one cab. It's a common practice. Many cabbies do it.'
Mr Tham added that years ago, he had refused to drive a group of four passengers who had too much luggage to fit into his cab.
Moreover, he said, 'As cabbies, we have to grin and bear it. So if passengers want to take our cab even if we can't shut the boot, we have to accept them.'
The boot only contained the passengers' luggage.
Mr Tham also said he had been so affected by the incident that he could not eat or sleep well for days.
He added: 'I did not drive my cab for two days after the incident because I felt very down.'
But now, two weeks after the incident, he says he 'feels resigned' and that he has 'already fulfilled his responsibility to help' the passenger.
When contacted by The New Paper, the passenger, who asked to be identified only as Tiffany, said: 'I panicked when I realised that my luggage was missing.'
She did not want to comment further but had earlier told Shin Min Daily News that the luggage contained some valuables and important documents.
She said that she could not forgive Mr Tham and added: 'I want him to be held responsible.'
In an e-mail reply to The New Paper, ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan, said: 'We have been alerted to the incident and are trying to assist in the recovery of the lost luggage, including broadcasting an alert to cabbies plying along the same route.'
She added that Mr Tham has been cautioned for not securing the pieces of luggage properly.
Said Ms Tan: 'We have also reminded our cabbies to ensure that luggage is securely fastened or to place them inside the taxi if they cannot fit into the boot.'
When contacted, a spokesman for the National Environment Agency (NEA), which is responsible for the cleaning of public roads, said in an e-mail response: 'If our street cleaners come across valuables, or items whose owners' identities can be ascertained, they will be handed over to the police.
'If ownership cannot be ascertained, they will be treated as unwanted items and will be removed.'
This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 30, 2008.
