containing cash and diamonds
An Egyptian businessman who left Dh200,000 (N8.7m)in cash and Dh1
million (N43m) worth of diamonds in the trunk of a taxi had nearly
given up hope of ever finding it. Luckily for him, he boarded the cab
of an honest driver who reunited him with his treasure.
Bangladeshi cabbie Abdul Halim, who earns around Dh3,500 (N153,135) a
month, said he discovered the hoard after duty hours. "My shift ended
at 4.30pm and as usual I checked the boot. Inside lay a big brown
leather bag. I opened it and I froze. There were several wads of
currency, a chequebook and a boxful of diamonds. I hadn't seen
anything like this before," said the 31-year-old, recalling the May 25
incident.
Halim said he instantly realised that the bag could belong to the
Egyptian he picked up at Al Mas Tower in Jumeirah Lakes Tower (JLT) to
go to the Deira Gold Souq that morning.
"I knew what I had to do. But just as I was about to alert my office,
I got a call from Dubai Police enquiring about the bag. I told them it
was with me and immediately set off for Naif police station.
"The Egyptian was waiting for me there. A big smile beamed across his
face when he saw me. The police then opened the bag in front of us and
started checking the contents."
It was then that Halim realised the bag's value. Convinced that
nothing was missing, the Egyptian patted me back and rewarded my
honesty with some cash.
More rewards followed from his company RTA and even the Emirates
Identity Authority.
"Abdul Halim is our hero," said Abdul Rahim Mohammad Al Ali, Events
Specialist, Resources and Support Department at the Roads and
Transport Authority (RTA).
"We have around 8,000 drivers for 3,500 taxis and I can vouch that
every one of them is honest. Within RTA, we have a strict policy that
if there is a complaint from a passenger and the driver does not
report it, he is immediately fired," said Ali.
"If passengers lose something in the taxi and they have not noted the
taxi number, all they have to do is inform us of the exact location
where they were picked up and dropped off, the time of their journey
and an approximate fare they paid. We have an efficient system where
we can track down the taxi and the driver," said Ali
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