TS,Wednesday 7 September 2011
No big deal to return a wallet to its rightful owner
I refer to the comment piece headlined “Give others the benefit of the doubt” in StarMetro on Aug 20 and concur with Nicki Cheong’s view that people in general are honest.
I have returned lost handphones and handbags left in my taxi without expecting or getting any reward for the trouble.
On one occasion, it was especially trying as I have to turn back a long way.
The custom-built MPV taxi I was driving was running solely on natural gas and would have to be towed when out of fuel.
I heaved a sigh of relief upon reaching an NGV station. Only then did I take in the joy expressed by the grateful owner who did not even realise that her handbag had been left on the back seat.
It was an enriching experience for me as much as it was for her.
Cheong is of the opinion that he and many others would pocket the ringgit or two found on the street but will attempt to return a wallet to the owner. In my case, he was spot-on.
Not too long ago, I found a RM5 note by the roadside and pocketed it.
On May 29 May, I spotted a small rectangular box on the driveway of my condominium. At 6am, it was still dark and I was about to go jogging.
It turned out to be a woman’s wallet. Inside, there was more money than I have in my bank account.
The identification documents in the wallet showed the owner to be a 29-year-old Chinese national but there was no phone number or local address listed.
My daughter wrote a message in Chinese and placed it on the notice board in the condominium, asking the Chinese national to leave her phone number so that we can contact her.
Surprisingly, there was no response throughout the day and until my bedtime.
However, the next morning, my daughter informed that she has returned the wallet to its owner. She had returned very late at night after a rehearsal at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre and noticed a contact number had been written on the message.
She called the number and discovered that the owner stayed just a floor above us.
The grateful owner insisted on handing over a RM100 reward but my daughter declined.
Days later, the owner rang my daughter to offer a fruit basket but was again declined.
To this day, she had no idea that we are staying just a floor below and I would not recognise her if we were to meet up in the lift.
The incident would probably make her have more faith in humanity.
As for my wife and daughter, it was no big deal for them and their only concern was returning the wallet to the rightful owner as soon as possible.
In fact, we have forgotten the matter until I read Cheong’s article.
I thought it happened many months ago and checked my diary from January and discovered it was actually quite recent.
The incident also reminds us that it would be wise for all of us to leave a name card or phone number in our wallets.
Although I could really use the money in the dropped wallet, it did not cross my mind to keep what I found.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
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