A Melbourne taxi driver who has been driving taxis for more than 30 years has been praised for his honesty after returning a large stash of cash left in his car.
Charanjit Singh Atwal recently found a wallet and $8,000 in cash scattered in the backseat of his taxi.
Instead of pocketing the money for himself, the Sikh driver immediately handed it over to the police so that the rightful owner could be traced.
The honest taxi driver said it never occurred to him to keep the money.
Amazingly, the rightful owner was reunited with his money.
Mr Singh Atwal did not ask for any reward from the grateful owner.
Charanjit Singh Atwal recently found $8,000 in the backseat of his taxi
'No no. I do not need it. Never, never,” said the 13cabs driver Nine news.
He told the Herald Sun: “I remember the passenger who lost it was in a hurry; he was very lucky because I had many passengers after him.'
“Needless to say, he was very grateful.”
Aussies were quick to praise the taxi driver after his story was posted online and went viral.
'A good and honest person. This speaks volumes about his character. May he be blessed abundantly,” one person wrote.
“He is blessed and his honesty and good deed will be returned to him tenfold,” said one.
'YEP! Great morals, great ethics! Respect,” wrote another.
Others were disappointed to learn that the owner of the money had not given Mr Singh Atwal a reward.
'No reward? What a *****,' one person wrote.
“The man clearly has a good heart and probably didn't expect a reward, but it's disappointing that the owner of the money didn't bless him with it,” said another.
Some were more cynical.
“Let's face it, there was a camera in the car and he knew if he kept the money he would lose his job or worse, be prosecuted,” one person wrote.
“If he hadn't done that, he could have been charged with theft,” said another.
The honest taxi driver said it never occurred to him to keep the stock
In Australia, Larceny by Finding is a law that requires people who find items and money to try to find the rightful owner. If the owner does not come forward, the finder can file a claim.
If someone instead keeps the goods or money, they could face a prison sentence.
In NSW, Section 117 of the Crimes Act 1900 provides that the penalty for theft is a maximum sentence of five years.
In 2010, a couple bought a second-hand suitcase for a few dollars at a Salvation Army store in Melbourne.
The woman who donated the suitcase was unaware that her husband had sewn their $100,000 savings into the lining.
“The distraught man contacted The Salvation Army in an attempt to retrieve the suitcase, but it had already been sold,” Salvation Army spokesman Major Brad Halse said. The age at the time.
Victoria Police later charged a man, 44, and a woman, 34, who split the money between multiple bank accounts while spending some of it.