Bangkok Cabbie Urged To Return Bt13M Worth Of Gold

[anterian]

Having accepted the fact that I am absent minded about things like wallets etc I now have any such items attached to my belt by chains. Bank messengers and diplomatic couriers do the same. I learnt my lesson the hard way, this guy has just had his lesson.

[khaowong1]

"Well, were movin on up, to the east side, to a delux apartment in the sky - movin on up, to the east side, we finally got a piece of the pie." :-)

I like this one better, hadn't had enough coffee yet on my first try at levity.

[DoctorG]

If the cabbie is smart he will be in Laos or Camb by now.

[wirat69]

For those with a long memory.... I guess the cabbies' name was not Sompong (who allegedly found 11mi baht in the back of his taxi after he dropped a client at Don Mueang some years ago.... said he realised and took the next U-turn to find the anxious client pacing up and down outside the terminal building. In reality there was neither cash nor client!!)

[Misterwhisper]

I just left $200,000.00 USD in a pizza shop in Pattaya last night. Can the police please tell the owner to return it?

That was EXACTLY what I was thinking when reading this story, although in my case it was of course $500,000 worth of diamonds which I left in a seedy bar last night. Can't remember the place or its name, of course. Police, please track down the culprit!

[Payboy]

540 baht weight of gold

Over 8kg. I suppose it was all in a 7-11 bag.

[HaleySabai]

JACKPOT,BABY!!!!......

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Out of maybe ten times I've left valuables in a taxi, bar or restaurant (yes I'm fatally absent-minded), at least seven times Thais have gone to great effort to track me down and return them to me. Once when a bargirl actually stole my manpurse, her employer (at a completely different bar across town) tracked me down and paid me back the cash she'd kept out of his own pocket, taking my word for how much it was.

Normal Thais are very honest.

[prepress]

Put an inexpensive GPS tracking device on every cab, with a central data center holding the data for perhaps a week. You would then know the position of every cab at every second. So issues like this one forgetting something, or where a cabbie has committed a crime, could be easily solved.

How would you know excactly which cab to track. Cabs driving close together.

[sfbandung]

Does someone just make up these stories? I'm not going for it.

[stevenl]

Why the threat of an arrest warrant, has the cabbie violated any laws?

[webfact]

Owner Offers Big Reward for Return of Bt13M Worth of Gold

BANGKOK: -- The owner of a gold shop in Ubon Ratchathani Province is offering Bt500,000 reward to anyone who found and returned the bag, which contained 540 baht weight of gold, to him. He had accidentally left the bag that contained the gold ornaments on the front seat of a pink taxi on Tuesday evening.

Ekkarat Kanokwannakarn, 60 year-old gold shop owner from Warinchamrab District of Ubon Ratchathani Province, met with the Pathum Thani Police on Thursday afternoon. He told the police that he accidentally left behind a bag containing 540 baht weight of gold on the front seat of a pink taxi. The gold is estimated to be worth 13 million baht.

Ekkarat explained that on Tuesday he and his wife traveled to a gold shop in Bangkok's Chinatown. They brought with them their stock of gold ornaments ranging from necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings to be exchanged for items with newer designs. At 5PM on Tuesday, the couple hailed a cab from the SAB Intersection in Yaowarat to Si Mum Muang Market in Kookot Sub-district. Ekkarat had to help his ailing wife get off the taxi and only remembered to retrieve 2 luggage that were placed on the backseat and left behind the black backpack that contained gold which was placed on the passenger seat of the taxi. The 2 luggage that were on the backseat contained the couple's clothes.

The Kookot Police immediately launched an investigation to relocate the backpack. They discovered a CCTV footage that captured the couple getting off the cab. They were able to identify the make and model of the vehicle but the VDO resolution of the footage was not enough for the police to determine the vehicle's license plate number.

The investigators have also gotten in touch with 20 taxi cooperatives to ask for their cooperation to relocate the missing backpack.

So far, no one has come forward with any information on the whereabouts of the taxi driver nor the backpack.

-- Tan Network 2012-03-16

[Card]

Gotta love the Thai police. First they say it will be almost impossible to find the guy. Then they say he had better turn himself in before they catch him. Actually with 13 million baht at stake, I suspect they actually are working hard to find him....... :-) Here is a tip for Thailand. Put an inexpensive GPS tracking device on every cab, with a central data center holding the data for perhaps a week. You would then know the position of every cab at every second. So issues like this one forgetting something, or where a cabbie has committed a crime, could be easily solved.

All that expense in response to some idiot with too much gold to misplace. Good luck to the cabbie, I say.

[Payboy]

Why the threat of an arrest warrant, has the cabbie violated any laws?

The worst crime - not sharing the loot with the BIB?

[sawati]

Mister Ekkarat Kanokwannakarn,forget about it.Only a miracle...Here,they dont belive in miracles...only in ghosts.

Hope the best for you

[Payboy]

I'm beginning to suspect this could be a TAT set-up for another honest cabbie story.

[rotorbreeze]

Why should we assume the cab driver has the gold ? If the bag was left in the back seat or on the floor he could drive around all day without knowing it was there.

It could of been found by a passenger.

Yes I agree the cabs I have taken I found cell phones in back seat. Question why would a gold dealer carry 1/2 million dollars of gold, does the owner of gold shop not have a car? As Karma is at play here, hope the money is used in a good helpful way to the finder, maybe make a donation to a needy cause will lessen the Karma...a windfall, for example a Cdn couple won 49 million in Loto 649 that too is Karma, now to worry whom may kidnap family..Money and stupidity follow each other closely.

[IAMHERE]

plea to the unknown taxi driver in one of the 100's of pink taxi's. If it's not to much trouble when you get a free moment could you please return my 14mil worth of gold to me, thank you.

I think thier best option is to make a theft report to the BIB and maybe offer a 1 mil reward.

I'd expect the BIB would tax that much if found and the hapless Taxi driver will get nothing. IMHO

Of course who is to say the guy actually left it in the taxi, he just thinks he did.

Edited March 16, 2012 by IAMHERE

[Valentine]

Both husband & wife forgot to take the gold with them! However, I don't feel it is an insurance scam as surely no company would pay up when negligence is involved.

[Lite Beer]

RT@RichardBarrow: The 10 million Baht of gold that was left in a BKK taxi has been found. Pic via @fm91trafficpro http://t.co/tDE1h3We

L.B

[whybother]

RT@RichardBarrow: The 10 million Baht of gold that was left in a BKK taxi has been found. Pic via @fm91trafficpro http://t.co/tDE1h3We

L.B

It seems some has gone missing.

[Buchholz]

I'm beginning to suspect this could be a TAT set-up for another honest cabbie story.

Bingo!

Taxi driver returns gold worth Bt13 million to owner

A taxi driver Friday returned gold ornaments worth Bt13 million to its owner via the FM91 (Sor Wor Por 91) radio station.

The taxi driver came out to return the gold after its owner, Akekarat Kanokwannakorn, 60, told police Thursday that he had left the 540 baht weight of gold in a pink Toyota Altis taxi.

Akerat told police that he had flagged down on Bangkok’s Worachak Road to travel to Si Mum Muang Market in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Taxi-driver-returns-gold-worth-Bt13-million-to-own-30178108.html

Edited March 16, 2012 by Buchholz

[Reasonableman]

Great news!

Edited March 16, 2012 by Reasonableman

[Lite Beer]

Taxi driver returns gold worth Bt13 million to owner

BANGKOK:-- A taxi driver Friday returned gold ornaments worth Bt13 million to its owner via the FM91 (Sor Wor Por 91) radio station.

The taxi driver came out to return the gold after its owner, Akekarat Kanokwannakorn, 60, told police Thursday that he had left the 540 baht weight of gold in a pink Toyota Altis taxi.

Akerat told police that he had flagged down on Bangkok’s Worachak Road to travel to Si Mum Muang Market in Pathum Thani’s Klong Luang district.

-- The Nation 2012-03-16

[djvolak]

You do not find too many like that. A good man and I hope things work out well for him and his family for all life. Sometimes we meet good people and do not even realise it till something goes wrong. Then the true nature comes out and you get to see it for real. Nice post thanks.

[Bagwan]

hope the cabbie gets to keep it! Anyone who can leave 13 million baht in gold in the back of a taxi is firstly too stupid for their own good and secondly rich enough not to really miss it, i'm routing for the cabbie at least he will take his time blowing it all on wiskey, hookers and yabba.

You are of coure an ex-cabby and have extensive experience of their ways of life.

[kiniyow]

Hope he gets the Reward he deserves~~~

[laurentbkk]

I really hope he got a very consequent reward ..well done !!! but one question ..travelling in taxi with so much gold ... isnt it a bit ...risky ?

[yougivemebaby]

I think 500,000 isn't enough

[nosatisfaction]

I once left the cash equivalent of $US 1500 in a brown bag in the back seat of a taxi in Manila. I was taking the money to deposit into my bank account when I was living and working in Manila. I had recently had an argument with my gf and my mind wasn't clear. After getting out of the taxi, I went to deposit the cash and realized I had left the cash in the taxi. About 10 minutes later the taxi driver returned to the bank and gave me all of my cash. I gave him some of the cash, but he refused it. He claimed that it was his religious duty to return the pesos to me and seemed just as relieved to see me at the bank as I was to see him.

I was very fortunate to have come across an honest cabbie, they do exist.

Awesome :-)

not so awesome, this kind of things happens in BKK too,maybe i've been very lucky for the past 15 years but I always got everyting back

not all people are bad