There was a recent incident in which a foreign visitor took 2,000 baht that was dropped by a Thai lady in the checkout line.   Hypothetically, if someone dropped 1,000 baht, which of the following best describes how you would deal with it?

 

Please feel free to leave a comment.

 

Topics:

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1105783-video-farang-thief-at-the-checkout-got-2000-baht-thai-shopper-tells-thaivisa/page/21/

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1106282-exclusive-farang-checkout-thief-who-stole-2000-baht-from-thai-shopper-returns-the-money-hes-british/

I'd call the police, keep it all above board.????

Rather pointless poll, I think. If you steal you are dishonest so when picking your option why not be dishonest?

On quite a few occasions I have dropped money and even my wallet. On each and every occasion I have had an observer point it out to me. That is here in Thailand and other countries. I have done same.

To observe a person unwittingly drop something  of  value , fail to inform, then to deliberately obscure the item in order to retrieve is the actions of an opportunist thief.

7 minutes ago, champers said:

Rather pointless poll, I think. If you steal you are dishonest so when picking your option why not be dishonest?

Why not tell the truth? It's anonymous as far as I know.

 

I checked I would let the shop return the money - because 1000B wouldn't enrich me too much.

But I think it's an interesting questions when we look at other versions of the same question.

How about if it would be lot more money?

How about if it was some remote spot, maybe a gold somewhere on the beach?

I guess if it is a lot of money and the chance that the owner is found is low and the chance that we get caught is low things look different.

Problem is, there is the "right answer" on a poll/forum and what people would actually do, not necessarily the same in real life.

I went to an ATM in Canada and someone had left $200 dollars still in the dispensing drawer of the machine.

It was at night in one of the little inside entryways in the bank.

What to do? Nobody around

I took one of the envelopes for depositing money, put the cash inside and wrote a note and my phone number and put it under the security gate so it was on the floor in the bank. Walked away with a clear conscience

Got a phone call from the bank the next day thanking me, a single mother had come to the bank in tears and when they looked at the video tape reunited her with her money.

Felt good 

The poll does not have the correct answer. It should have: Inform the woman she dropped the cash. Period!

51 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Problem is, there is the "right answer" on a poll/forum and what people would actually do, not necessarily the same in real life.

 

Agreed... IF in the 'Pattaya / Brit thief / 2000 baht dropped' example the response is somewhat of a no-brainer..... The person is right in front of you, indicate to them that they have dropped their money. 

 

IF the person has gone, hand the money to the Cashier and perhaps also notify a manager, the person may return for their dropped money. 

 

IF its in the middle of nowhere, no one else is around and you just find money, then keep it or ignore it... I'd keep it !

I’d surely point it out or if nobody in the cue give it to the cashier, free investment in good karma.
Wife and I were riding the bike through rice country and I thought I spotted a bill in the road,,kept going but then stopped thinking I’m sure that was money and she laughed and said she saw it too but didn’t talk,,,we went back and sure enough ฿20!
Nobody to return it to so she took it home and put in her princess shrine for good luck.

1 hour ago, KMartinHandyman said:

I’d surely point it out or if nobody in the cue give it to the cashier, free investment in good karma.
Wife and I were riding the bike through rice country and I thought I spotted a bill in the road,,kept going but then stopped thinking I’m sure that was money and she laughed and said she saw it too but didn’t talk,,,we went back and sure enough ฿20!
Nobody to return it to so she took it home and put in her princess shrine for good luck.

in that  situation and for a relatively small amount that can not be  genuinely attributed to an individual who dropped it then  no issue.

This topic and the  questions asked relates to a scenario where an individual  denied  common decency.

The random find of 20 bht on a road has no comparison.

 

 

 

I cant imagine doing anything other than returning the money or handing it in to the cashier in the hope the person came back for it.

 

I believe I have known a few people that would pocket the money without a second thought,  but have also known many more people with integrity and respect for others who would go to great lengths to hand it back.

 

I am sure most people would return it one way or another. The poll seems to bear that out

I have seen the video. In that case, a definite telling the person that they dropped something. Another thing that came immediately to my mind, living in Thailand and having done some background reading ... stepping on the money with the King's likeness = lèse majesté offense.

I have found money before but it was small coins on the street or in parking lots with no one around.

I once found a wallet with about $500 and C/C's in it in a toilet in Paris airport. Took it to the security, who told me it was unusual as they expected people to keep it ! Was a while to my flight and I eventually met the guy who lost it with security - some Chinese or Japanese student who thanked me no end before getting on his flight. That said, I have more faith in French security than I do in Thai security ! 

Anytime the money belongs to an individual, I would make an attempt to give it back. If the money came from a bank, insurance company, or large corporation, I would keep it. They do not need it, many are largely thieves, and they can afford it. Especially true if it were a large sum. No issues when it comes to large corporations. Especially banks. People are a different story altogether. 

Long time ago I saw a 100 sfr note on the floor in a shopping center. I picked it up, looked around to see if somebody was searching for it, then put it in my pocket. Later, the same day, I heard a street musician playing the violin. Very very beautiful. So I put the money in his violin case.

Most people are honest imho.  

A more interesting poll might be:

You find a Thai bank bag containing 5 million THB laying in the middle of the road.
What would you do?

10M in an unattended bag I'd keep, 20bht I saw a lady drop I'd pick up and hand back.

All morality is relative.

 

If I saw someone drop the money they would definitely be told they had dropped it. If it was just blowing down the Soi with no obvious owner it would go in my pocket. If someone enquired later on for that exact amount they would get it back also.

I give it to a taxi driver, they have a proven track record of returning money

50 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

10M in an unattended bag I'd keep, 20bht I saw a lady drop I'd pick up and hand back.

All morality is relative.

 

While working in Iraq while under sanctions, we had submitted a bid to build a bridge to the US Dept. of Defense.   The bid was $150,000, but the bridge came in at under $60,000.   All transactions in the country were in US$ and cash.   I went to the main office, located close to the Turkish border, to get the money.   They did not care that it cost $60,000 and gave me a big box with $150,000 in freshly minted bills.  

 

There was that moment when I went outside with the big box of money that I looked over toward the border and wondered how long $150,000 would last.   I decided my price was $250,000.   So that was my price then.  

 

If you see them drop it let them know. If the money was on the floor in a market and you did not see anyone drop it maybe give it to management and hope they do the right thing. If it is out on the street, I would just keep it unless I saw someone looking for it. 

 

I think this is mostly common sense if you weren't raised in a barn.

 

Money dropped in a store and you see it being dropped. Duh. Tell the person immediately -- hey you dropped your money, lady. Or even be a gentleman and pick it up and hand it over. You're welcome. 

 

Money found on the street, no wallet, no evidence of who dropped it. Freakin' pick it up. It's yours now. The only issue would be how much is worth bending over for. Like would you bother with a small coin?

 

Money found on the floor of a store and no idea who dropped it. That's more ambiguous. It's a material thing in a store. The store owns what's in the store. So pocketing that money is perhaps in an abstract way stealing from the store. On the other hand if you give it to the store, they'll probably think you're crazy and the chances of someone coming back to claim I think would usually be remote. They may or may not realize later that they lost money later but it could have been anywhere and money has no identifier on it.

 

This is something that has never happened to me, seeing cash on the floor of a store. Coins maybe. So thinking about it, if it was coins or a small bill like a 20 I would just leave it. If I saw 1000 on the floor of a store, I'm not really sure what I'd do. To touch it with the intention of turning it in is to get involved somehow with it and yes there are cameras everywhere. Seems like a bit of a risk to try to be a good Samaritan over something rather petty. No good deed goes unpunished as "they" say.  I really don't think I would pocket it as like I said it seems to me it has become property of the store. I say I don't think I would because it's true you never really know what you'll do until it happens.

 

So I might just leave it there and assume the next person is probably going to pocket it. The one that got away.

Edited June 16, 20197 yr by Jingthing

Found a wallet in Amsterdam in front of a shop window seal. took it inside the shop. It had no cash just ID and credit cards. Shop owner wasn't interested in helping did not want to take the wallet. Told me to drop it in mailbox or take it to police. Hmmmmm 

Before making a decision, check if there are CCTV cams around!!

 

My wife found a bundle of notes (9,000 baht) in Bluport some time ago.  She handed it over at a information desk.  "There's CCTV everywhere.  I'm not stupid!" she told me.

 

Several months later, she got a call from Bluport to go and collect the cash as it had not been claimed.  She went to collect it and found that a 'ceremony' had been set up for the purpose.  Senior staff with the boss handing over the money amidst a photo frenzy.  All done in a 'VIP suite'.  

 

The long and short of it depends on the circumstances.  Handing it in to the police is probably the worst option.

 

find the nearest policeman and give it to him and tell him where i found it.

1 hour ago, connda said:

Most people are honest imho.  

A more interesting poll might be:

You find a Thai bank bag containing 5 million THB laying in the middle of the road.
What would you do?

Of course, in the case of money dropped in a shop and that we see the person , answer 2  is evident ; but if we find money in the street  ( maybe not 5 million ), what shall we do ? I found already in the past some money ( not much ), not  knowing  who was the owner, so I kept  it 

truly astonishing how this becomes a "dissertation topic" 

I would first try and return it to the person myself, in unable to do so, tell the store what happened.  In the case of the recent video I would have just told her she dropped some money.  I have done that before.  Recently I left a 7/11 and didn't look at my change until outside and realized they gave me 200 baht too much.  I went back inside and showed the change they gave me and how much it showed on the receipt.  I figure they may be responsible if their till is short.  I don't know how strict they are here on that kind of stuff but back in the USA lots of cashiers lose their jobs for it.

Similar situation perhaps. I have been given incorrect paper change by cashiers. I pointed it out to them. They were elated. I felt good for the deed. 

And I have seen people drop money, phones, cameras. It felt good to point it out to them. 

Man in store that prompted this post was grossly wrong.