A guy walked into Slice of Heaven tonight pretended to ask about booking the place and stole a smartphone from one of the tables. He's about 30, Chinese with unkempt hair. Posting this in case he tries to use the same MO in other bars and cafes.

sounds like a 老表 to me. sucks to hear.

"About 30, Chinese and with unkept hair".

Well, that narrows it down.

Guess just leaving a SmartPhone lying on table wasn't very "smart"!!

Thanks to Danmairen and JJ and Janice for the kind thoughts.

have you tried calling the number on the phone?

Many smart phones have a SIM card. Easily removed and replaced.

If it was an Android smartphone, tied to your gmail account, you may try some tricks:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1642444
ting.com/blog/how-to-recover-a-lost-or-stolen-android-phone/

Or try googling "retrieve stolen android", if you're lucky you might be able to locate it. The chances are slim though.

The OP posts a warning about a thief who may be operating in cafe's in an area many of us regularly frequent, and gets the usual snide remarks from the usual suspects. Have you guys nothing better to do?

I thought he was older, maybe 40. Long thin face and longish thick hair. But I did notice his too big for him black or very dark jacket. Either way, Kunming is full of these opportunistic very sharp tea leafs and the moral is: if you value it keep it close, and preferably, well out of sight.