Hat Yai tuktuk driver returns passports, cash to couple from Malaysia

[Thaivisa News]

Hat Yai, Songkhla:- A tuktuk driver in Hat Yai has returned passports and cash of 3,900 Malaysian ringgits to a Malaysian tourist and his Vietnamese girlfriend.

Chong Yaw Woo, 34, and his Vietnamese girlfriend, Pham Thi Kim Ha, 32, forgot their plastic envelope containing the passports and cash on a tuktuk their chartered to tour Hat Yai town on Tuesday.

Pornthep Duangkiart, 53, the tuktuk driver, returned the passports and the cash, to the two tourists on Wednesday at the Hat Yai police station.

The two tourists filed a complaint at the police station Wednesday morning. They appeared very worried when they arrived at the police station and the Vietnamese woman was crying.

The Vietnamese tourist said she could not sleep at all after her passport was lost because it would be extremely difficult and very complicated to get a new one – especially now that she is living with her boyfriend in Malaysia.

She hugged the taxi driver to thank him when he turned up at the police station and returned the envelope.

Police then checked footage from security cameras in the downtown area and they learned that the two tourists chartered the tuktuk from the stand in front of a department store.

Police learned from the tuktuk stand that the two chartered the vehicle from Pornthep so they contacted him.

Pornthep told police he was also looking for the two tourists and was praying that they had not left Thailand yet.

Pornthep said he had called several hotels to inquire if the two tourists stayed there but he failed to locate the two tourists.

He said he has been working as a tuktuk driver for 20 years and has never wanted to take valuables from his passengers.

The pair gave him Bt5,000 as a reward.

[thequietman]

TukTuk driver said he was looking for them but never contacted the police to tell them of his find. When police contacted him, then he said he was looking for them. I try to see the good in all people but does anybody else smell BS ?

[Itchintogo]

No

[Pimay1]

It speaks volumes when a person does an honest deed and it makes the headlines.

[terminatorchiangmai]

Its sad that it have to be reported when someone actually does something good in this country.

Its still fishy that the driver could not contact the police or maybe the hotel where he presumably dropped the clients ?

Lets wait and pray that they are out of the country or was it lets pray that they are still in the country and wait ??

Edited February 19, 2015 by terminatorchiangmai

[Alwyn]

They can't win can they? Not here anyway. Good on him!

[cup-O-coffee]

It speaks volumes when a person does an honest deed and it makes the headlines.

Honest? You believe this tripe?

[Guitar God]

I left my wallet at a little booth that makes keys in Unon, retraced my steps and as I was walking up the owner pulled it out of the drawer he put in in for safe keeping and gave it to me. He wouldn't accept one baht for a reward. Not a thing was missing from it. A taxi driver in Da Nang found us in a restaurant on the third floor of the building he dropped us off at after he realized I'd overpaid him. Honesty seems to be the norm from my experience. It's still good to read stories about people doing good things instead the usual stories about animal torturers, suicides, accidents and crime.

[cup-O-coffee]

I left my wallet at a little booth that makes keys in Unon, retraced my steps and as I was walking up the owner pulled it out of the drawer he put in in for safe keeping and gave it to me. He wouldn't accept one baht for a reward. Not a thing was missing from it. A taxi driver in Da Nang found us in a restaurant on the third floor of the building he dropped us off at after he realized I'd overpaid him. Honesty seems to be the norm from my experience. It's still good to read stories about people doing good things instead the usual stories about animal torturers, suicides, accidents and crime.

I respect that. Regarding my prior post, when the police are involved there is usually a BS trail. Thais hate to have police involved and hate to have anything to do with them for any reason within reason. Your case involves dealing with the Thais directly and I am hearing this first hand from you. Not so the OP.

I would love just once to hear the foreigner's version in a story such as the OP, instead of the "Thainess" version... sans any foreigner's input. These always sound like a sales pitch for TAT and there is no input form the foreigner. How convenient!

[macka]

My brother jumped on a train at the station going to CM.but he was early and another train going to Singapore was in the slot .found he was on the wrong train when some one got on with the same seat# but different train. they stopped the train to let him off in the Middle of nowhere, saw a taxi at a road stall and not speaking any Thai showed the taxi driver his ticket. The driver looked at his watch, mai pen rai.

Loaded bros bags into the boot and front seat and shot off for bang sue? Station to meet the train. The driver jumped out to check if train had passed and bro grabbed his bags from boot and with his young daughter was shown where to stand to get the correct carriage .

He left his daughter to look after the bags, went to bleed the dragon, returned to find daughter wandered of to get a drink. Missing 1 bag was a bit pi#%ed jumped on train found correct seat and relaxed. 1 hour later conductor came looked at him checked the seat # and tickets " what wrong seats/train again?"and went to talk to other conductor who walked up and speaking good English asked if bro had lost a bag?

Said he could jump of go back and pick up or they would send next train.

I took him to pick up the missing bag, the next day and found out the taxi driver had gone to a food stall to have his lunch and when he returned to taxi found the bag.

He contacted station master who contacted train and remembers bros seat #

He not leave his name just good deed!

The bag contained amount other stuff 6L Wild Turkey,and his daughters new bathing suit.

The start to an epic MHS loop with his daughter sitting in front on a KLX

[Doc46]

My brother jumped on a train at the station going to CM.but he was early and another train going to Singapore was in the slot .found he was on the wrong train when some one got on with the same seat# but different train. they stopped the train to let him off in the Middle of nowhere, saw a taxi at a road stall and not speaking any Thai showed the taxi driver his ticket. The driver looked at his watch, mai pen rai.

Loaded bros bags into the boot and front seat and shot off for bang sue? Station to meet the train. The driver jumped out to check if train had passed and bro grabbed his bags from boot and with his young daughter was shown where to stand to get the correct carriage .

He left his daughter to look after the bags, went to bleed the dragon, returned to find daughter wandered of to get a drink. Missing 1 bag was a bit pi#%ed jumped on train found correct seat and relaxed. 1 hour later conductor came looked at him checked the seat # and tickets " what wrong seats/train again?"and went to talk to other conductor who walked up and speaking good English asked if bro had lost a bag?

Said he could jump of go back and pick up or they would send next train.

I took him to pick up the missing bag, the next day and found out the taxi driver had gone to a food stall to have his lunch and when he returned to taxi found the bag.

He contacted station master who contacted train and remembers bros seat #

He not leave his name just good deed!

The bag contained amount other stuff 6L Wild Turkey,and his daughters new bathing suit.

The start to an epic MHS loop with his daughter sitting in front on a KLX

Nice story ,,,but for me (sorry) very ,,unbelievable,,

[macka]

I feel sad for you, Mr Rossi