Allison Kong knew something was wrong when she and her husband and daughter arrived home around 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.
Their house in Burnaby’s South Slope neighbourhood, typically left dark, was all lit up.
While she and her 18-month-old daughter waited outside, her husband went in to investigate. Soon, Kong’s fears were confirmed – their home had been broken into.
The thieves entered the house by prying open the basement suite door and then kicking down the door to the upstairs.
“The good thing was they didn’t do too much damage. They didn’t take too many of the big items. They went for my laptop, a camera with all our honeymoon photos on it, and they took my husband’s power tools,” she said.
The thieves then went into Kong’s bedroom and stole her jewelry, some cash, all her handbags, and a large art bag that contained her wedding album.
But the most cherished item Kong lost that night was a small wooden box her older brother had made in Grade 8 and had given her before her wedding.
“And he passed away two years ago, shortly after my wedding, so that is of significant value to me,” she told the NOW.
The box has curled edges and corners, shaped like a four-leaf clover. Inside was Kong’s baby photos, her daughter’s umbilical cord, the couple’s passports, more jewelry and some foreign cash.
“Everything that was important to me, I just left in that box, and they just took the entire thing,” she said.
The loss of this special box, made by her brother, has devastated Kong. Her brother was diagnosed with cancer shortly after Kong got married and he passed away a few months later. He was 31 years old. Two years later, her brother’s death is still fresh in her mind.
As if the theft of the box wasn’t enough, videos of Kong’s brother before he died were on the laptop the thieves took.
“It was the first and last time my family went bowling together, and I was actually waiting for the right chance to show those videos to my parents,” she said, her voice breaking.
“My brother was really healthy for my wedding, and then he was diagnosed with cancer and just passed away within two months’ time. He didn’t even have a chance to fight. We haven’t even finished the grieving process, and now they take everything that is reminding us of him and it’s completely, completely worthless to them.”
While Kong admits there’s not much chance the stolen items will be recovered, she’s still hopeful the laptop and box will be found. Since the theft, she’s been scouring Craigslist for the laptop, which is an ASUS u35j.
Kong filed a police report with Burnaby RCMP the night of the break-in, but so far, she hasn’t heard anything from the investigator. In the meantime, she hopes by sharing her story someone might return the stolen items.
“My laptop is password locked, so I’m just hoping maybe some of the videos could be recovered or that wooden box could be recovered,” she said.
Anyone who comes across the ASUS u35j laptop or the wooden box is asked to contact Burnaby RCMP and quote file number 2015-52309.
