Dubai: A Pakistani taxi driver who returned more than Dh100,000 left behind by a passenger was on Monday honoured at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai.
Mubein Al Haq was earlier this month honoured by Sharjah Police.
The consulate decided to honour Al Haq after reading his story in Gulf News. He was presented with a certificate of appreciation.
The father-of-six said that an Iraqi passenger had left in a hurry after reaching his destination in Sharjah, forgetting his bag in the process.
Al Haq noticed the cash-filled bag a couple of hours later while doing a routine check of his taxi. He handed over the bag to Sharjah Police who contacted the passenger.
Dh100,000 is worth around 2.7 million Pakistani rupees, enough to buy a small house and a small plot of land in the countryside there.
The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, had notified police that he had lost a bag and the police asked him to come to a police station where he could identify the bag. Al Haq was also called in to confirm the identity of the owner.
Javed Jalil Khattak, consul general of Pakistan in Dubai, said Al Haq’s deed is “a shining example of the honesty and strong work ethics of Pakistanis”.
Most Dubai taxi drivers are Pakistanis and there have been several cases over the years where they have returned significant amounts of cash, gold or jewellery left behind in their taxis. Authorities and taxi companies have routinely praised the drivers’ honesty.
“This proves there is no shortage of Pakistanis like Mubein. After reading about him in Gulf News, we invited him to the consulate so we could give recognition to his honest deed. The appreciation will also serve to encourage other people to follow his example,” Khattak said.
Al Haq, who said he was “around 50 years old”, has been a taxi driver in the UAE for 27 years.
“The though of keeping the money never crossed my mind. Even if no one was there to see me take it if I wanted to, I know God was always watching. As soon as I found the cash, I felt sad for the owner of the bag, thinking about the distress he must be in. It was such a pleasure to see him reunited with his property,” Al Haq said.
“I earn an honest living. I would never feed myself and my family with haram [forbidden] money that doesn’t belong to me. My family was happy to learn about the incident and supported my decision. I have never sent a haram dirham home to them and they would have never taken it anyway.”
