Cabbies Rewarded For Giving Back Cash

[george]

Cabbies rewarded for giving back cash

Taxi drivers are often regarded as rapacious cheats, but that reputation was amply belied yesterday by two honest cabbies.

An elderly taxi driver in Samut Prakan returned the equivalent of Bt630,000 in British currency to a housewife who had left the money behind in his cab. In Chon Buri, meanwhile, another cabby performed a similar act of kindness by returning Bt164,500 to a forgetful British tourist.

On Tuesday, Ladda Hill, a 32-year-old housewife, called the Jor Sor 100 traffic news radio station to report that she had forgotten a plastic bag containing ?9,000 (Bt630,000) on the backseat of a taxi.

She told the station that she had hailed a cab outside Evana Hotel in Bang Na, where she and her British husband had been staying. She later realised she had accidentally left the bag full of cash in the taxi. Ladda said she had been planning to give the money to her sister to pay for a house for their mother, who lives in Tak.

“I was shocked,” Ladda said. “That’s a lot of money and I couldn’t remember the taxi’s registration number. My brother in-law told me to call Jor Sor 100 for help.” This she did, and as it turned out the hotel staff also had the taxi’s registration number on record.

Phut Dokmaijin, a 63-year-old taxi driver who volunteers as a health-care giver, received a call yesterday on his mobile phone just as he was helping vaccinate residents in his neighbourhood in Samut Prakhan.

Phut was informed that a passenger had left a bag full of cash in his cab. He said he immediately rushed home to check and found the money.

Ladda said she and her husband had given up on ever regaining their money. They rewarded the honest driver with Bt10,000.

Also yesterday, another taxi driver Jaikla Thongphaen, 34, drove back to the Sunya House Hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district to tell the staff there he had found a suitcase containing ?2,350 in cash (Bt164,000), some documents, and the passport of an Englishman called Wilson Matthew.

He said he had driven the tourist to the hotel at 11pm on Tuesday. Matthew, 31, thanked the Thai driver profusely and gave him Bt26,000 as reward yesterday.

--The Nation 2006-01-19

[Patex]

Hi ladda hill,

any relatives in the Surin cityhall ? Giving a reward under 2% from the amount you stupidly left in the cab isn't really ladylike... perhaps you will learn from:

SIR WILSON MATTHEW!

Rewarding the honest finder of your belongings with nearly 20% is so generous, I am speechless!

For me, you are the "Good Example" of the month!

Patex

[Dragonman]

Hi ladda hill,

any relatives in the Surin cityhall ? Giving a reward under 2% from the amount you stupidly left in the cab isn't really ladylike... perhaps you will learn from:

SIR WILSON MATTHEW!

Rewarding the honest finder of your belongings with nearly 20% is so generous, I am speechless!

For me, you are the "Good Example" of the month!

Patex

Quite agree! I have a good mind to contact Khun Phut and advise him that under the recently amended law, a "finder" is entitled to claim 10% of the value of property up to 30,000 baht and 5% over that figure. Where the police are involved they may also claim 2.5% up to max.1000 baht.

I would have hoped that had police been involved they would have informed him of his rights.

Perhaps Mrs Hill is reading thaivisa and sees the error of her ways

[phuketsiam]

yeah 10,000 although a lot of money to a cabbie doesn't seem much, I think I would have been so relieved/elated to get it back I would have bunged him 50,000, but easy to say that when its not you

[Noel]

Such a shame that the recipient of the 'lost' money was not a Brit 'Ladda' (you know, those lowlife sorts that are the scum of the earth and frequent Pattaya )

Kind-hearted taxi driver returns English mans holiday money he had left in the taxi from Bangkok

A story now of a good hearted taxi driver and an English tourist who misplaced his sterling currency only to discover he had left the money in the Bangkok-based Taxi. Mr. Mathew Wilson aged 31 from England feared the worst and assumed his money would never be seen again. He was wrong. Khun Jaigar aged 34; the taxi driver picked up Mr. Wilson from the Burapa Witti Road in Bangkok and brought him here to the Sanyar House Hotel in Soi 12, Naklua. A small bag containing 2,350 Pounds sterling was left inside a small compartment next to the passenger’s seat. He was dropped off at the hotel at 11pm on Tuesday night and received a very welcomed visitor at Midday on Wednesday. Khun Jaigar had returned with the bag and money. We commend the actions of Khun Jaigar who was rewarded with a cash gift of 300 Pounds for his honesty.

Source: http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_18_01_49_2.htm

[simon43]

And slightly OT, but an example of how some poeple are not so honest....

'British businessman Simon43 left his expensive Nokia mobile phone on a Phuket beach-lounger, and returned only 20 seconds later to find it gone! Simon43, who was helping his heavily pregnant Thai wife to their car some 50 feet away, returned to the sun-lounger to retrieve his phone, only to find it missing. Standing by the lounger was the guy who sweeps the sand off them. "Where's my phone" asked Simon43 in Thai. "Phone, what phone?" said the guy, without smiling....'

Grrrrrrrrrrr

[Rigger]

I drop my wallet at a shop while buying some beer a hour later The wallet was returned by a 12 year old boy still with 10,000 bht in side I just tipped him 100 bht and thanked him

[Patex]

Cheap Charlie !

[sonthaya]

Cheap Charlie !

Right it should have been 10% = 1000 bath, I hope next time the boy will keep the wallet.

[Rigger]

Cheap Charlie !

Right it should have been 10% = 1000 bath, I hope next time the boy will keep the wallet.

I wanted to give him more I made the mistake of asking the wife how much to give him and she said 60 bht So I settled on 100 bht and the lad was more than happy giving a village boy 1000 bht would be telling the village heres a stupid farang with to much money. And I am trying to keep that a secret

[LaoPo]

........and I couldn’t remember the taxi’s registration number.

This happens to almost everyone all over the world... *

always write down the number when you're in the taxi OR store the number (and name if possible) in your MOBILE!**

* forgot a valuable expensive Vest in a taxi once in Seoul

* left a small bag with ALL the money+passport/papers in a supermarket in Ibiza once (for a long familyholiday); realized after 2 hours......raced back and the honest storekeepers handed it to me with a smile

* another friend of mine lost EVERYTHING....he stepped out to take his luggage from the back and the guy took off what an A_s hole !! (excuse me)

** If you don't have a pen/paper and NO Mobile...keep focusing on the REGISTRATION NUMBER and make a little game of it.....you will certainly remember the Nr. OR just ask the guy for his pen OR ask his telephone/mobile number and tell him you want to make a tour in 2 days and you will phone him

LaoPo

[roamer]

Sitting down having a drink in Chatuchak, approached by a young Thai who shows me my driving licence and asks "This you ?"....then produces my wallet from which he had taken it and looked around to see who matched the photo. I had dropped it when I was paying for something. Credit cards, heap of cash etc, totally refused any reward but accepted a coke!

[jrincon17]

Sitting down having a drink in Chatuchak, approached by a young Thai who shows me my driving licence and asks "This you ?"....then produces my wallet from which he had taken it and looked around to see who matched the photo. I had dropped it when I was paying for something. Credit cards, heap of cash etc, totally refused any reward but accepted a coke!

I thank taxin had someone call these in and its just a bunch or bull !

[khunbigjohn]

Sitting down having a drink in Chatuchak, approached by a young Thai who shows me my driving licence and asks "This you ?"....then produces my wallet from which he had taken it and looked around to see who matched the photo. I had dropped it when I was paying for something. Credit cards, heap of cash etc, totally refused any reward but accepted a coke!

There's good and bad people where ever you are. My girlfriend (sometimes absent-minded) left her bag containing a cellphone inside a 7 Eleven in Chinatown/Bangkok. The clerks held the bag until my girlfriend retreived it. On a later trip, she left her cellphone on the bed of the hotel (Sena Place) we just checked out of. When she called the hotel, the frontdesk asked the chambermaid if she found a cellphone in Room #? She replied, "No find phone."

[Joey Boy]

Sitting down having a drink in Chatuchak, approached by a young Thai who shows me my driving licence and asks "This you ?"....then produces my wallet from which he had taken it and looked around to see who matched the photo. I had dropped it when I was paying for something. Credit cards, heap of cash etc, totally refused any reward but accepted a coke!

I thank taxin had someone call these in and its just a bunch or bull !

yep, sounds a bit fishy to me also

[The Dan Sai Kid]

Pity the Tuk Tuk driver that found my 20,000 baht Siemens phone wasn't so honest. He wouldn't answer the phone when I called and then removed the Sim altogether within a couple of hours.

Would anyone like to print up that story?

[Simbo]

Cabbies rewarded for giving back cash

Taxi drivers are often regarded as rapacious cheats, but that reputation was amply belied yesterday by two honest cabbies.

An elderly taxi driver in Samut Prakan returned the equivalent of Bt630,000 in British currency to a housewife who had left the money behind in his cab. In Chon Buri, meanwhile, another cabby performed a similar act of kindness by returning Bt164,500 to a forgetful British tourist.

On Tuesday, Ladda Hill, a 32-year-old housewife, called the Jor Sor 100 traffic news radio station to report that she had forgotten a plastic bag containing ?9,000 (Bt630,000) on the backseat of a taxi.

She told the station that she had hailed a cab outside Evana Hotel in Bang Na, where she and her British husband had been staying. She later realised she had accidentally left the bag full of cash in the taxi. Ladda said she had been planning to give the money to her sister to pay for a house for their mother, who lives in Tak.

“I was shocked,” Ladda said. “That’s a lot of money and I couldn’t remember the taxi’s registration number. My brother in-law told me to call Jor Sor 100 for help.” This she did, and as it turned out the hotel staff also had the taxi’s registration number on record.

Phut Dokmaijin, a 63-year-old taxi driver who volunteers as a health-care giver, received a call yesterday on his mobile phone just as he was helping vaccinate residents in his neighbourhood in Samut Prakhan.

Phut was informed that a passenger had left a bag full of cash in his cab. He said he immediately rushed home to check and found the money.

Ladda said she and her husband had given up on ever regaining their money. They rewarded the honest driver with Bt10,000.

Also yesterday, another taxi driver Jaikla Thongphaen, 34, drove back to the Sunya House Hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district to tell the staff there he had found a suitcase containing ?2,350 in cash (Bt164,000), some documents, and the passport of an Englishman called Wilson Matthew.

He said he had driven the tourist to the hotel at 11pm on Tuesday. Matthew, 31, thanked the Thai driver profusely and gave him Bt26,000 as reward yesterday.

--The Nation 2006-01-19

In the case of Ladda Hills money. I wonder why the Taxi driver, on finishing his shift, never checked his cab ( as is the norm) And, had the hotel not had his number, would he have been so quick to return the cash. Sorry, but it has to be said. Also, why does honesty have to be rewarded so highly. Myself, I would refuse a reward. ( and have done) The feel good factor is reward enough.

[Jai Dee]

TAXI DRIVERS TO BE PRESENTED AWARDS FROM INTERIOR MINISTRY FOR GOOD CONDUCT

The Ministry of Interior plans to present awards to 2 taxi drivers who returned the money left inside their cars by tourists.

Interior Minister Kongsak Wanthana (คงศักดิ์ วันทนา) spoke on Mr. Phud Dokmaijeen's (พุด ดอกไม้จีน) return of 9,000 pounds and Mr. Jaikla Phanthong's (ใจกล้า แผ่นทอง) return of 160,000 baht to the foreign passengers, both from the UK, who left the money inside the cabs. Air Chief Marshal Kongsak praised the conducts by the two taxi drivers and said their actions would help create a better image of Thailand in the eyes of tourists, importantly British tourists.

The Ministry of Interior will soon present the two cab drivers with certificates.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 20 January 2006

[SamuiRes]

When I was working in Bangkok, over a period of about a year, my phone fell off my belt on three occassions getting out of a taxi (before I bought a new case!). Each time when my secretary called my number they answered and brought the phone back - Baht 1,000 a time was worth it.

[sonthaya]

Cabbies rewarded for giving back cash

Taxi drivers are often regarded as rapacious cheats, but that reputation was amply belied yesterday by two honest cabbies.

An elderly taxi driver in Samut Prakan returned the equivalent of Bt630,000 in British currency to a housewife who had left the money behind in his cab. In Chon Buri, meanwhile, another cabby performed a similar act of kindness by returning Bt164,500 to a forgetful British tourist.

On Tuesday, Ladda Hill, a 32-year-old housewife, called the Jor Sor 100 traffic news radio station to report that she had forgotten a plastic bag containing ?9,000 (Bt630,000) on the backseat of a taxi.

She told the station that she had hailed a cab outside Evana Hotel in Bang Na, where she and her British husband had been staying. She later realised she had accidentally left the bag full of cash in the taxi. Ladda said she had been planning to give the money to her sister to pay for a house for their mother, who lives in Tak.

“I was shocked,” Ladda said. “That’s a lot of money and I couldn’t remember the taxi’s registration number. My brother in-law told me to call Jor Sor 100 for help.” This she did, and as it turned out the hotel staff also had the taxi’s registration number on record.

Phut Dokmaijin, a 63-year-old taxi driver who volunteers as a health-care giver, received a call yesterday on his mobile phone just as he was helping vaccinate residents in his neighbourhood in Samut Prakhan.

Phut was informed that a passenger had left a bag full of cash in his cab. He said he immediately rushed home to check and found the money.

Ladda said she and her husband had given up on ever regaining their money. They rewarded the honest driver with Bt10,000.

Also yesterday, another taxi driver Jaikla Thongphaen, 34, drove back to the Sunya House Hotel in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district to tell the staff there he had found a suitcase containing ?2,350 in cash (Bt164,000), some documents, and the passport of an Englishman called Wilson Matthew.

He said he had driven the tourist to the hotel at 11pm on Tuesday. Matthew, 31, thanked the Thai driver profusely and gave him Bt26,000 as reward yesterday.

--The Nation 2006-01-19

In the case of Ladda Hills money. I wonder why the Taxi driver, on finishing his shift, never checked his cab ( as is the norm) And, had the hotel not had his number, would he have been so quick to return the cash. Sorry, but it has to be said. Also, why does honesty have to be rewarded so highly. Myself, I would refuse a reward. ( and have done) The feel good factor is reward enough.

[Jai Dee]

TAT PRAISES TWO TAXI CHAUFFEREURS WHO PICKED UP THE FORGOTTEN MONEY

The Tourism Authority of Thailand held an honorary certificate presentation ceremony for the two taxi chauffeurs who picked up the forgotten money belonging to two foreign tourists.

The TAT deemed that this is an act of being a good host to tourists, which would inevitably affect the image of Thailand and its tourism industry. Hence, an honorary certificate presentation was held for these two righteous cab drivers.

The first incident took place when a foreign tourist identified as Mr. Wilson Matthew unintentionally dropped his wallet with more than 2,350 pounds sterling in a cab while he was heading to Sunya House Hotel in Pattaya. However, the cab driver, Mr. Jaigla Pantong (ใจกล้า แผ่นทอง), recovered the forgotten money and returned it to Mr. Matthew. As for the second case, it was a similar incident in which Mrs. Ladda Hill forgot her 9,000 pound sterling in a taxi, but fortunately the taxi driver picked up her money at his backseat. He then informed a radio station on this matter, and as a result, the cash was returned to the right owner.

Such award presentation has been held by the TAT for many times, in order to motivate and boost the morale of these praiseworthy people. Thus, they would continue to perform good deeds for the community. As for these two cab chauffeurs, their news have been broadcasted to other countries, and as a result, the image of Thailand has become more positive.

This clearly shows that it pays to perform good deeds, and it also shows that every Thai people can help contribute beneficial results to the kingdom in both a micro an macro levels.

Source: Thaisnews.com ประจำวันจันทร์ที่ 23 มกราคม 2549