Cabby returns $12,250 to owner

Cabby returns $12,250 to owner

He had returned laptops and money on over 20 occasions

By Hedy Khoo
February 25, 2009

MOST people would be pleased at finding a large sum of money in their cars. But not this man.


MR HONESTY: Mr Ng has been a cabby for four years and has returned items and cash on over 20 occasions. TNP PICTURE: HEDY KHOO

Reason? The five-figure sum of money was not his.

Cabby Ng Cheng Kim, 55, was surprised when he found $12,250 and a handphone in his taxi in the early hours of 11 Feb.

He was cleaning his car after his night shift had ended when he found a handphone and a wallet.

So Mr Ng decided to open it to see if there was any information to help him return the wallet to the owner.

He started to get worried when he saw a few $50 notes in it. Then he saw another note in the wallet.

'It was dark and I saw that the denomination of the currency had many zeros, so I assumed it must be a rupiah note or renminbi,' recounted Mr Ng.

But when he examined the note properly, he had a shock.

'It was a $10,000 Singapore dollar note!' said Mr Ng.

'I have never seen such a large denomination note in my life before, so I couldn't recognise it.

He immediately dialled the taxi company, ComfortDelGro, and reported the matter.

'I told the officer at the Lost and Found department the exact amount as I didn't want any misunderstandings later,' said Mr Ng.

He also found an identity card, whose address matched a location where he had dropped off a couple earlier on his shift.

'I picked up a couple who appeared to be in their 30s at about 4am at Outram, and dropped them off at a block of HDB flats in Kampong Arang,' recalled Mr Ng.

Reluctant to wake the owner of the wallet, Mr Ng went home as he was exhausted after his 10-hour shift.

Too worried to sleep
'I tried to sleep but I couldn't,' said Mr Ng.

Worried about the large sum of money in his hands, Mr Ng called his office at 1pm that day, intending to hand the wallet and handphone over to the Lost and Found department at Sin Ming Drive.

At the same moment, the passenger's handphone rang and Mr Ng picked it up. The caller turned out to be a friend of the passenger's.

'I told him to ask the passenger to meet me at the Sin Ming office to claim his wallet,' said Mr Ng.

When he reached the office, he met the man, who was waiting anxiously. He immediately handed the missing items over.

'He kept hugging me and thanking me repeatedly,' recalled Mr Ng.

Mr Ng was about to leave when he was stopped by the passenger, who insisted on giving him $100. He refused at first but took it after the passenger insisted.

Mr Ng, a cabby for four years, earns an average of $2,000 a month. He admitted that business has been poor due to the recession.

He had owned a garment factory for 12 years but turned to driving a cab after the business failed.

'I may not be very well-off now, but I will not take money that does not belong to me,' said Mr Ng.

'I would rather have less money but know that I earned it through my own efforts.'

According to ComfortDelGro, Mr Ng has returned items, including cash and laptops, on more than 20 occasions.

Ms Tammy Tan, the group corporate communications officer of ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited, said: 'We are heartened to see such acts of honesty even during challenging times such as these.

'We are proud of Mr Ng and will be rewarding him with $100.'

Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,193860,00.html?