Dubai Police honoured a taxi driver on October 20 who returned Dh1 million in valuables accidentally left behind by a passenger.
Hamada Abu Zeid, an Egyptian expat, has worked with Dubai Taxi Company since 2006.
Dubai Taxi Driver Who Returns Dh1 Million Worth Of Valuables
On that fateful day – October 11 – Hamada picked up a family from Dubai Airport at Terminal 3, taking them to their residence in Palm Jumeirah.
“The client, a European man, was travelling with his wife and infant.
Amid the chaos of settling, he must have placed a small black leather bag under the seat to keep it safe,” Khaleej Times interviewed Hamada.
After driving them to their destination, Hamada picked up another family who left behind a phone in the back seat. When he saw the phone lying on the seat, the bag under it also came to his notice.
“I immediately returned to the hotel to check if the phone belonged to them,” he said. “That’s when I noticed the small bag under the seat; however, the bag did not belong to the family who claimed the phone.”
Hamada promptly contacted the police. “I did not think twice. I knew I had to return it,” he said.
When the police arrived, they confirmed that the bag contained items worth a fortune, which the passenger had already reported missing.
Hamada said: “It is my duty to return lost items to ensure they reach their rightful owner.
This is the moral standard we uphold here in Dubai.
I always find things that clients forget behind. My first instinct and reaction is to return them, no matter what the value is.”
Brigadier Majid Al Suwaidi, Director of Al Barsha Police Station, later awarded Hamada a certificate of appreciation.
“His act embodies the noble values of integrity and responsibility that we seek to promote in the community,”
Brigadier Al Suwaidi remarked.
