A 50-year-old Phuket taxi driver returned a bag yesterday containing THB70,000 and other important items to the British couple who left it in his cab.
At 7:20pm last night, Danny Kevin Mackney, 25, and April Cush, 26, went to the Phuket Tourist Police Headquarters in Phuket Town to meet with driver Ratchaphak Tansaksiri, who had found their bag in his vehicle after dropping them off at the Phuket Bus Terminal 1 on Phang Nga Road, Phuket Town.
Lt. Col. Nareuwat Phutthawiro of the Phuket Tourist Police said, “We received a call from a couple who said they had left their bag in a taxi and asked if we could help them.”
“The couple could not remember the license plate of the taxi so we called the Phuket Provincial Police, who checked CCTV footage from the couple’s journey from the Merlin Hotel to the Phuket Bus Terminal 1 and managed to track down the taxi.
“The Provincial Police told us that the taxi belonged to Ratchaphak so we called him and asked him to come to the station,” he said.
Ratchaphak said, “I did not know that the couple had left the bag in my car until some new passengers told me. They also told me that they hadn’t opened the bag.”
“I soon found that the bag belonged to my previous customers who I had dropped off at the bus terminal, so I decided that after dropping of my new passengers I would go to the Tourist Police Station and hand in the bag.”
“In the meantime, the Tourist Police called me and said that a couple had reported leaving a bag in my car and asked me to go to the station,” he said.
Upon arrival at the station, where Mackney and Cush were waiting, Ratchaphak handed over the bag to the couple.
“Cush checked the bag and found that everything, including THB70,000 in cash, passports, credit cards and other items were all still inside,” said Col. Nareuwat.
“Cush thanked Ratchaphak for returning her bag and apologized if she had caused him any trouble.
“The couple were very lucky that Ratchaphak is a good citizen.”
“We are grateful that Ratchaphak returned the bag. This is certainly good for the image of Phuket and the couple have said that this has definitely made them want to return to the island again,” Col. Nareuwat added.
Story: The Phuket News
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