Man returns HK$1.76 million in cash he found on the street

A man posted a note on Facebook telling people that he gave HK$1.76 million (US$224,947) in cash he found on the street back to its owner on Monday.

Dennis Wan, the former owner of a second-hand bookstore, said he was waiting for a taxi at Shek Hui Market in Sheung Shui in the New Territories at 7pm, when he saw a middle-aged man, carrying a few bags, get into a taxi – but leaving a paper bag behind on the street, Sing Tao Daily reported.

Wan tried to stop the man but the taxi left before he could do that.

He took the bag and found there were 18 stacks of HK$1,000 notes –equal to HK$1.76 million, according to his Facebook post.

Wan admitted that he felt inclined to take the money as there were no people around and no surveillance cameras, feeling that the cash could compensate for his loss after having to close his bookstore.

However, his conscience beat the greedy demon inside his head as he worried that the money could be something that would save another person’s life.

Wan decided to wait for 30 minutes to give the owner a chance to return. If not, he would report his find to the police.

And after finishing two cigarettes, the owner appeared, seemingly searching for something on the street.

After confirming that the man could tell the exact amount of cash inside the paper bag, and that his outfit was same as the man he saw earlier, Wan returned the paper bag to the owner. The man told him the money was taken from a bank for payroll payments.

The man was thankful, he said, and wanted to give Wan HK$50,000 but he turned down such a big reward. Wan later accepted HK$5,000 due to the man insisting he must take something.

His post received more than 20,000 ‘likes’ and was shared over 1,000 times, as netizens praised Wan as a man with a good heart, HK01.com reported.