Hi guys. Just to let you know that , as expected, i have had no luck in recovering my stolen goods. A few days ago, the top policeman from the county i live in, came to the school and said that they were taking the matter very seriously, and that this is the first time this kind of thing had ever happened. Incredible, a bare faced lie, as i have now discovered that at least 3 teachers have been robbed in the block of flats which lie adjacent to the school campus, in recent months. So the real purpose of the visit was to tell me that China has no thieves at all, and that mine was highly unusual. They also told the FAO that they have noticed that i still haven't closed the sliding gates on my balcony, and that i am the only flat that hasn't closed them. Well, as i mentioned before, this is because i want to catch them trying again, given that i think its the only way i am going to catch them. They have assured me that i shouldn't worry about my safety as they are keeping a close eye on my flat. There's a phrase about a horse and bolting that springs to mind here. I still have no idea if the school are going to refund me as they haven't said anything to date.

One interesting point that arose, was the fact that they asked me if i knew the MAC number of my laptop. Now,i am no genius when it comes to computers , and so i had no idea what this was. Anyway, after checking online, i discovered that if i had known this MAC number ( also know as the physical address) then the police would have been able to pinpoint the exact location of my computer the next time someone went online with it. Is anyone else aware of this MAC number, as i certainly wasn't? However, rest assure, i will be taking note of this number on my future laptop. Sorry to go off topic now, but does anyone know if wordpress has been banned in China as i haven't been able to get on in days?

Cheers
Ian
.
.

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. Some other questions were asked in these replies so i will try to answer them here. Basically, i live in a self-contained flat, complete with kitchen , large living-room, and 2 bedrooms. To be honest, the flat is great and the school have been great to me since i started working here. As far as i know, the only other person to have a set of keys is the woman whose job it is to look after any foreigners who come to work here. There is a main entry front door, which is always open as there are many flats in my block, and each flat has a main , solid front door ( no way of getting in here without a key), plus a back door which opens up to the balcony. Both these are always locked. However, next to the kitchen there is the spare bedroom which has sliding glass doors which also open up onto the balcony. This is where the thief or thieves entered the flat. I have actually never locked these sliding doors as i didn't even realise there was a lock ( the lock here could easily be broken from the outside balcony). So, he has entered through this back bedroom and opened the door into the living-room. He has then entered the master bedroom where i sleep and stolen most of the items from my bed. The bedroom door does have a lock on it, but it has never ever crossed my mind to lock it, given that i live in a quiet area inside a compound with 24 hour security. Outside on the balcony there is also large white sliding gates, which, if i had locked, then there is no way he would have got in. Having said this, i have never closed these and on no occasion has anyone ever suggested that i should lock then at night.

Someone asked about insurance. Well, i assumed that the school would have insurance, but one of the Chinese English teachers told me yesterday that contents insurance in not the done thing in China. There have been a few suggestions that the security or police may be in on theft, maybe, but i don't think so to be honest. The most annoying thing here is that my laptop had all my pictures on it from 6 years of travelling to nearly 50 countries. I had backed them up, but, yep, the hard drive i backed them up to was also stolen. I have to say that the teachers etc have been very kind so far, but it will leave a bitter taste in my mouth if i don't get reimbursed somehow. I imagine i have no hope of ever getting these back, although the police , in answer to another question, did come and take fingerprints, and have now discovered a print other than mine on the sliding doors, so at least they have the guys fingerprint.

Since i don't think he will be caught i have decided to trap him ( or at least another thief) in my own way. I have purposely left the sliding doors slightly open now, so that he can easily get in. So, if he comes hunting again, he will then open the back bedroom door to enter the living-room, but when he does i will be awoken by the sound of a large glass bottle breaking due to the fact that on the other side of the door this bottle will be sitting on the handle. Many amongst you might think this unwise, but i am 6 foot 3 inches ,215 pounds, have survived Afghanistan, and am well able to take care of myself, so a little Chinese thief holds no worries at all !! Petty, i know, but who cares as i am still very very angry.

Once again,thanks for taking the time to reply , and i will update you all if there are any developments.

Cheers
Ian