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10 Apr, 2016

Thai taxi driver honoured for returning cash-filled briefcase to HK visitor

Bangkok, 6 April 2016 Royal Thai Governnment PR department) – Suvarnabhumi Airport has presented a certificate of honor to a taxi driver for his good deed, as he returned a briefcase containing cash, credit cards, and other documents to a Hong Kong traveler.

General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport Sirote Duangratana said that the taxi driver, Mr. Wattana Pornkongkaew, had picked up Mr. Huang Xuepeng (Wong, Hok Pang Derek), a traveler from Hong Kong, at 17.21 hr on 30 March 2016 from Suvarnabhumi Airport in order to take him to a hotel on Sukhumvit soi 26 in Bangkok.

Because of traffic congestion on the way to the hotel, the passenger asked to get out of the taxi at the area around Sukhumvit soi 36, before they had arrived at the hotel. After that, Mr. Wattana found a briefcase left by Mr. Huang on the back seat of his car.

Inside the briefcase were 20,000 Hong Kong dollars (about 91,599 baht), 850 Thai baht, an ID card, credit cards, and other documents. Mr. Wattana asked the Taxi Coordinating Center and the traffic radio FM 91 to help him track down the passenger. He also coordinated with the Double Tree Hotel, which was the destination of the passenger.

Mr. Wattana told the hotel staff that he would return the briefcase to the Taxi Coordinating Center. However, Mr. Huang asked Mr. Wattana to bring his property to the hotel instead. On 31 March, the taxi driver went to the hotel to return the briefcase to Mr. Huang, who hugged him and praised him for his honesty.

Mr. Huang said that he would tell other people when he returned to Hong Kong how honest the Thai taxi drivers were and that taking taxis in Thailand is safe.

As Mr. Wattana impressed his passenger and helped promote the good image of Thailand, Suvarnabhumi Airport presented him with a certificated of honor and some souvenirs for his honesty. The General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport stated that Mr. Wattana should be a model for other taxi drivers for his honesty and hospitality and that he deserved being praised for boosting the image of Suvarnabhumi Airport and Thailand.