At 7:20pm last night (Mar 29), Danny Kevin Chay Mackney, 25, and April Claire Cush, 26, went to the Phuket Tourist Police Headquarters in Phuket Town to meet with 50-year-old taxi driver Ratchaphak Tansaksiri, who had found their bag containing B70,000 left inside his vehicle after dropping them off at the Phuket Bus Terminal 1 on Phang Nga Rd, Phuket Town.
Lt Col Nareuwat Phutthawiro of the Phuket Tourist Police said, “We received a call from a couple who said that they had left their bag in a taxi and asked if we could help them.
“The couple could not remember the licence 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 Mr Ratchaphak so we called him and asked him to come to the station,” he said.
Mr 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 Mr Mackney and Ms Cush were waiting, Mr Ratchaphak handed over the bag to the couple.
“Ms Cush checked the bag and found that everything, including B70,000 in cash, passports, credit cards, and other items were all still inside,” said Col Nareuwat.
“Ms Cush thanked Mr Ratchaphak for returning her bag and apologised if she had caused him any trouble.
“The couple were very lucky that Mr Ratchaphak is a good citizen.
“We are grateful that Mr 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.