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54-year-old taxi driver praised for returning money to Israeli man who forgot it in taxi


A 54-year-old taxi driver from Roi Et Province returned nearly 100,000 baht to an Israeli man after he forgot it in a taxi. The owner of the money was delighted that Thai people are nice and that Thailand is a safe country.

At the Peacekeeping Radio Station, SWP.FM91, Dr. Jaitan Sriwangphon, Deputy Managing Director of Wilai Center and Sons Co., Ltd., a co-operator of the SWP.FM91 radio station, together with Mr. Pichit Chaihanit, Head of News, SWP.FM91, witnessed the return of foreign currency, totaling 75,100 baht, to its Israeli owner after he had forgotten it in a taxi.

This good Samaritan taxi driver is Mr. Wirat Soi-udom, 54 years old, from Roi Et Province, driving a pink and green taxi. He found a black Prada handbag. Inside there were several foreign currencies and various cards. The documents were in the name of Mr. Nathanel Avinoam, an Israeli national. Mr. Wirat picked it up from Thanon Tok and dropped it off in Soi Sukhumvit 22 at 8:00 p.m. on August 31, 2024. He then brought it to the FM 91 Tr
affic Police Station at 2:00 a.m. on the night of August 31, 2024. After checking the documents and money in the bag, it was found to be US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Israeli dollars, United Arab Emirates dollars, and Thai baht, totaling 75,100 Thai baht.

After receiving the report, FM91 Police rushed to investigate to find the owner of the bag until they found the owner of the bag, who was an Israeli tourist staying at a hotel in Charoen Krung area and had been traveling to Thailand for business and tourism for more than 20 years.

The good citizen taxi driver said that he has been following the Police Station 91 for more than 20-30 years. He has picked up the money many times and has always returned it to its owner. This time, he tried to drive around to return it to its owner, but when he could not find the owner, he thought of Police Station 91 and left it there so that the owner could be found. He felt happy to be a good citizen and wanted to tell all taxi or tuk-tuk drivers to be honest in their profe
ssion.

For Mr. Nathanel Avinoam, the owner of the bag, he said with a happy and delighted expression that he met a good taxi driver. He also said that he has been traveling in and out of Thailand for more than 20 years and likes Thailand very much, including the food, medical care, and lovely people. After retirement, he would like to live in Thailand. He feels happy to have met a good person and received his property back.

The owner of the money gave the taxi driver a reward of 200 US dollars, or 6,800 Thai baht, to express his gratitude and appreciation for the honesty of the good taxi driver.

Source: Thai News Agency