Taxi-Driver Returns Bt520,000 In Lost Cash

[webfact]

Honest taxi-driver gets his reward
Kwanhathai Malakan
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A taxi driver Tuesday returned Bt520,000 in cash to a couple who left it in an envelope on the taxi's back passenger seat.

The taxi driver, Sathit Khamhom, was honoured as a good man by Sor Wor Por 91 traffic radio station.

The radio station was told of his good deed by the passenger, Nirawal Sricharoen. She said she and her husband hired the taxi to take them to a Honda showroom to buy a car, and they left the money in the taxi.

The driver later turned up at the showroom and returned the cash to her. She gave him Bt2,000 as a reward but she forgot to ask for his name.

After she called the radio station, the taxi driver turned up at the station and was honoured with a "Sor Wor Por 91 good person" shirt.


-- The Nation 2013-04-10

[retell]

wow 0.4 % reward . ,welll better then nothing i guess

[holger]

respect

[laurentbkk]

2000 baht reward ? that's so cheap ........ usually 10% is a good thing .....

[hellodolly]

Need more posts like that one.

I once left my wallet on the back seat of a tuck tuck here in Chiang Mai. I didn't realize it for half an hour and went down to the front desk to see if it had been returned. I then proceeded outside to talk to tuck tuck drivers who knew me to see if they had recognized the fellow. One of them was making phone calls when the tuck tuck I had left it in came around the corner with my wallet not one item missing. I had about 1,000 baht plus credit cards I gave him a 300 baht tip.

[CelticBhoy]

Returns 500,000 and gets 2,000 reward.

Bet he keeps the lot next time.

Can buy a lot of shirts with half a mill.

[F430murci]

Awesome!

[draftvader]

I left my phone in a taxi in Silom. Quick call from my friend's phone and the man made a 10 minute detour to get back to us. I gave him B200 as he could have easily have made B100 in that time and the inconvenience of losing my phone would have cost me much more than a B100 tip.

On another occasion a taxi driver returned a wallet, with cards and cash intact to a person living in our apartment block. This was made more remarkable by the fact that the loss happened at 3am and the man came back to find the person at 3pm the next day when he clocked on. Even more remarkable as we were living down a pedestrian only soi and he had tracked the man down by asking around. I was disgusted when the wallet's owner tried to offer only B100 and I made him give the taxi driver B500. Later I asked him how much it would have cost him to have all his cards re-issued and sent from the States to help him see why B500 was a good reward. I know which one of these 2 I would rather share a meal with!

I still believe that most taxi drivers in Bangkok are good people.

[A Member]

2000 baht reward ? that's so cheap ........ usually 10% is a good thing .....

Yes, a nice one from the taxi driver but not so from the loser. She's carrying more than B500,000 and he gets 2,000 and a T-shirt

[Misterwhisper]

2,000 Baht "reward" and a t-shirt for returning 520,000 Baht in cash? It seems honesty doesn't pay out these days. He should have kept the money.

Besides, anyone carrying around this much cash in public and then forgetting it in a taxi is probably not very attached to it. I can understand if someone leaves their hat, their umbrealla, their newspaper in a taxi, but half a million Baht?

[kawaiimomo]

Amazing. I am not sure if I would have done the same.

I once drop the company phone, an expensive nexus s, in a taxi. I called to the phone and the driver answered, he was delivering a monk to a nearby province and promised to bring it back when he return to Bangkok. I gave the man 3000 baht for his integrity, he was surprised and told me it was too much.

Talking with him he explained that it took some time to answer the phone because the monk was sitting on it and could notice lol. He also explained how another taxi driver found a student phone and, after meeting him, he refused to return the phone if was not given 1 or 2 thousand baht. There are good and bad people, that's why we should reward the good ones :-)

[JetsetBkk]

wow 0.4 % reward . ,welll better then nothing i guess

Not a lot.

[gawaterman]

wow 0.4 % reward . ,welll better then nothing i guess

Not a lot.

The self satisfaction of having done the right thing though, is priceless

[Bluespunk]

the people who lost the money were buying a car with it. Could be they've had to skrimp and save to raise that money. Might not have that much to spare. Could be 2000 for them was a big deal. maybe.

[Mooner]

When i read the headline and then read he had got a reward my brain was calculating what i would have given him. I then scrolled down to find he got 2000 Bt. This couple had lost 500,000 Baht and this guy has the decency to return it and this is his reward!

Im sure most of us if we lost 1000Bt and it was returned would give the person at least 200Bt. I cant see why the same cant be done in this scenario. Imagine if they droped him 50,000. It would of made his year!!

[FarangTalk]

It's a sad day when honesty is expected to be financially rewarded, and a small token of thanks is deemed not enough.

[KBAA]

2000 5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

What a idiot, then will no obne in the future return anything !

10% minimum !

[JetsetBkk]

It's a sad day when honesty is expected to be financially rewarded, and a small token of thanks is deemed not enough.

It's been a sad day for quite a while.

[horsewell]

He's a good man. Who knows the couple could have borrowed the money and been not much better off than the driver. They probably where but it's always wonderful when someone does the right thing, reward or not. I know if I lost property in a taxi, i would be thinking that it was gone. whether it be 10B or 1,000,000B. Have enough experience in life to know that it's a rare thing and should be acknowledged. He's not stupid, he's honest and there is nothing wrong with that.

[siampolee]

Indeed a wonderful example of honesty from the taxi driver. Rather a paltry sum 2,000 baht as a reward 5,000 baht would to my mind have been par for the course.

Shame our politicians don't have the same streak of honesty running through them

[ishan14]

since when did this "10% good deed commision" come up?.. A person is supposed to do the right thingfor the sake of humanity , not for some bloody 10% reward. Maybe not everyone in thailand is as "rich and big-hearted" as the farangs on TV.

[pattayadingo]

He has the merit of returning the money and he will bask in that. Yet 2000 is a small amount as a reward. I too think 5000 would have been better.

To those who say that he should be happy with his reward and those who say honesty itself should be the norm, how would you feel if the driver had taken the cash, left his job and lived happily on the money?

Well done to the driver for his honesty.

[Wiggy]

Has nobody heard of cashier's cheques? Easier and much safer.

[Nickymaster]

since when did this "10% good deed commision" come up?.. A person is supposed to do the right thingfor the sake of humanity , not for some bloody 10% reward. Maybe not everyone in thailand is as "rich and big-hearted" as the farangs on TV.

Well, if you can lose THB 500k in a taxi you are first of all an idiot. If somebody is kind enough to return the money you should give him more than 2000b.

Shamefull act by the "owner" of the money.

[DocN]

Good on the taxi- driver!

Respect!

...but seriously: 2.000 Baht?

I know, a "thank you" should deem enough to reward honesty and honesty should be a normal thing....but 2.000 Baht????

[hkt83100]

Has nobody heard of cashier's cheques? Easier and much safer.

If you buy a car and want to pay with a cashier's cheque, you first have to go to the shop, get an invoice, present the invoice at the bank and then you can buy a cashier's cheque to pay exactly for this invoice. At least that's the experience I made when I bought my last car.

Edited April 10, 2013 by hkt83100

[Dave8237]

Last December, prior to my permenant move here, my wife and I were coming back from the Grand Place area of BKK having seen the lights prior to the Kings Birthday, by taxi to Sutthisan. Pay the driver, got out, and then released as he pulled away my wallet wasn't with me.

Panic!!! 4000B all UK debit and credit cards, UK driving licence all inside, hotel keyboard as well. Did I have the taxi number no, or driver name no....phone calls made cards cancelled, and reported at local police station ( very nice and helpful police officer)

Anyway 7am next morning call from reception, the taxi driver had found my wallet in the back of his taxi, found key card, with hotel details, and called them. He returned my wallet the next evening, all intact, cards and cash ect. I was so relieved and grateful. I gave him 1000B to as a thank you. Some will say too much, but when you have been so stupid as I was, the relief to get it all back. It was the driving licence I was more worried about as the hassle in getting a new one, when they are lost is unbelievable, I looked it up to see what to do. Cards were easy to cancel, and used Skype on my phone, using free hotel wifi, so no big expensive phone calls.

And learnt my lesson, do I need to carry so many cards, NO, cash now down to 2000B as well.

I wish I had his name and details, my wife spoke to him, as Thai, and can't remember his details either. But a very honest taxi driver as well.

[EyesWideOpen]

Is it just me, or does there seem to be an excessive amount of these " massive sum of money lost in taxi, and returned by good hearted taxi driver" stories ??? Last time I left a phone in a taxi, he ransomed it back to me.. :-(

[chooka]

This is the 2nd one (taxi driver) this year, honesty appears to be catching on in Thailand.

Honest Phuket Van Driver Returns Bt120,000

in Phuket News and Events
Started by webfact, 2013-02-02

Pork Vendor Returns Lost Wallet With 200,000 Thb

in Pattaya News Clippings
Started by Rimmer, Yesterday, 14:55

[jbrain]

I left my phone in a taxi in Silom. Quick call from my friend's phone and the man made a 10 minute detour to get back to us. I gave him B200 as he could have easily have made B100 in that time and the inconvenience of losing my phone would have cost me much more than a B100 tip.

I left my phone in a taxi meter which I took from the airport to my house in Pattaya.

A quick call from another phone made the phone switched off within the following 5 minutes.