Taxi Driver Took Effort to Track Down Passenger After Receiving an Extra $88 from Fare

How many of us would return a lost wallet?

Or a phone we found on the streets?

Or a pair of AirPods we found on the 985 bus on the way to Bukit Timah last Sunday?

Reader: That last one seems oddly specific

I’m just a very descriptive person.

In this dog-eat-dog world, being honest isn’t exactly easy.

That’s why this cabbie’s simple act of kindness has impressed netizens all over the country.

Taxi Driver Took Effort to Track Down Passenger After Receiving an Extra $88 from Fare

A ComfortDelGro passenger has taken to social media to share a wholesome story about an honest taxi driver whom he accidentally overpaid.

The man detailed the incident in a Facebook post on Tuesday (10 Nov).

According to the man, Manfred, he took a taxi home after a long walk on Tuesday.

Later that night, Manfred received a text on WhatApp from the taxi driver, claiming that Manfred had handed him $103 instead of the $15 fare.

This, of course, was a mistake on Manfred’s part and not an incredibly generous tip.

When he received this message, Manfred realised he hadn’t paid much attention when paying the taxi driver.

He ended up mixing the $100 note and the $10 note, which he said look similar because of their colour, not helped by the lack of lighting in the cab.

The cabbie, Mr Raheem, could have kept all that money, but being the honest person he is, chose to notify Manfred so he could return it.

“Deeply Impressed & Humbled” By Gesture

According to Manfred, the cabbie had gone to the trouble of calling the Comfort Taxi booking desk just to get Manfred’s phone number.

He then contacted Manfred so he could return the extra money.

To Manfred, this was a touching gesture that he didn’t expect.

“My utmost respect and gratitude to Mr Raheem for his honesty! He could easily just have kept the money and I would have never known,” he said.

“I’m deeply impressed and humbled by this man’s integrity. It’s truly heartwarming that such honesty still exists! Thank you very much, Mr Raheem!”

Similar Incident in 2012

A similar incident occurred in 2012, but with a much larger sum of money.

A taxi driver who picked up a vacationing Thai couple found some money in his vehicle after they alighted.

Looking at the massive sum of cash, the man thought they had left over $200,000, but received the shock of his life when he brought it to ComfortDelGro and discovered that the $1,000 bills amounted to $1.1 million in total.

Many would find it hard to return such a large, enticing sum, but the cabbie returned the money and was praised as a hero.

“The money is unimportant to me,” he said.

“It doesn’t belong to me, so how can I use it?”

Perhaps honest and integrity aren’t in short supply, as we suspected. It’s nice to know that there are honourable people out there who will always do the right thing.

Image: Phasut Waraphisit / Shutterstock.com & Facebook (Manfred Liecht)