BANGKOK – Pongsin Jirakulthawornpat, 45, returned the money to the crew of the truck belonging to Brink’s (Thailand) Ltd at Jor Sor 100, an Army-owned traffic radio station.
The company started out providing delivery services for the gems and jewellery industry before branching out into cash and security services.
Pongsin said his taxi struck the bag, which had been left on a road leading to the Rama III Bridge, at about 2am. Since it was heavy and he was afraid that it would cause an accident, he decided to take it home. Later in the morning, he found that the bag contained money and alerted Jor Sor 100 to find its owner.
Pongsin said he used to work as a bank employee, and he recognized boxes inside the bag as being the kind that are used to transport cash to ATMs.
He said he decided to return the money because he knew that losing such a large amount of money would cause the person responsible a lot of trouble.
Tossaphorn Rewnak, 35, one of the three employees in the truck that lost the bag, said the crew had transported a total of Bt53 million in cash at about 1.45am yesterday for delivery to Siam Commercial Bank ATMs. While they were driving on Taksin Road, a man on a motorcycle waved them down and told them that one of the truck’s two doors was open.
The crew found that one of their bags was missing and alerted Bukkhalo Police Station.
Police said the three employees gave conflicting information about the incident and that the truck’s closed-circuit television camera was out of order. Police said they would investigate the case thoroughly.
A manager at Brink’s said the company would reward the cabbie when it reopened for service after the New Year holiday.
He said the company had not yet made a decision on whether fault lay with the three employees or the truck itself. Officials from the firm were waiting for the results of the investigation, he said. – Jessada Jantharak,Bangkok Post