deja vu

one wednesday, 3 weeks ago, i was opening my coin/key pouch, where i keep my daily expenses money nicely folded up, to pay for lunch and discovered my last $4 was missing. to make things worse, the spare $10 i normally keep for emergencies like this was also missing.
i reported this to my programme & project managers but decided not to make too big an issue of this.
then yesterday lunchtime, the same thing happened again. this time i got so agitated cos i just withdrew my money in the morning. luckily it was at the canteen so now i still owe the stall auntie $2 for the meal.
this time, i made a very big hoo haa over the matter and threatened to make a police report. we had our suspect and upon his arrival back to the office, an urgent meeting was held. one of the senior officers made a check of the guys belongings and found nothing.
so, after work, when i was on the bus, the guy called and sms-ed. he admitted that is was in fact him who was the culprit. he begged for forgiveness and promised not to do it again. he was actually just released from prison a month ago for stealing. next week he will be sent to DB for another 2 weeks.
the question is, should i forgive him? as a first-born, i have been programmed to forgive. i can be very stubborn when it comes to certain things, but i am a softie if it involves human beings, especially if it affects their lives.
i strongly believe in karma. the effect of retribution. i will feel a certain level of guilt.
for instance, when i was hospitalised 10 yrs ago, one old lady was making a lot of noise that it made me unable to sleep. so i called a nurse and before i knew it, the old lady was wheeled out of the room and was made to sleep outside the door, to my horror! oh my, the guilt i felt made me shut up the following night and tolerated her rantings the remaining days i was warded.
do drop me a comment or mail or any form of communication. it would be very much appreciated (,")