Chumphon shop owner returns bag with passport, 500 euros to Italian tourist
An Italian tourist was gripped by panic on Tuesday evening after realising he had lost his bag containing 500 euros, passport and credit cards. But fear turned to joy in the blink of an eye when Alessio Trevisan, 67, arrived at Chumphon police station to find his worldly possessions waiting for him.
Food shop owner Siriporn Mokpichai, 71, had handed in the black shoulder bag earlier, telling police it had been left at her eatery in front of Chumphon railway station.
Siriporn said three foreigners had arrived at her shop to order food and left the bag behind after paying the bill.
She said she and her daughter opened the bag and saw a wad of cash, so she sent her daughter to look for the owner but they were nowhere to be seen.
Siriporn said she kept the bag at the shop for three hours waiting for the owner to return, but when the tourists failed to return she took it to the police station.
Along with the cash and credit cards, police found the bag contained a passport and bank book identifying Trevisan as the owner.
As police began the task of checking the bag and recording the lost property, Trevisan turned up with a frightened look on his face.
When he saw his bag and Siriporn, he hugged her out of joy, thanked her and handed her a reward of Bt1,000 before leaving with his bag.