Cabbie returns US$500,000 violin to absent-minded professor

Chinese violinist Xue Wei asked for help from Bangkok’s Thong Lor police station after realising that he left the violin in the taxi, station’s superintendent Pol Colonel Pansa Amarapitak said on Friday.

The musician told police that he had brought his violin for a musical performance at a restaurant in Sukhumvit Soi 26 on Wednesday.

The Italian violin made by Camillus Camilli is over 200 years old and its estimated value is over 18 million baht, according to Wei. He uses the instrument regularly and it has high spiritual value for him, Wei said.

A professor at the Royal Academy of Music in the UK, he was once described by The Guardian newspaper as “a devastating performer, combining formidable technical prowess with great breadth and variety of expression”. He has travelled between Thailand, China, and the United Kingdom in recent years.

On his way back from the restaurant at about 10pm, he took a taxi, but he forgot to bring the violin with him when arriving at his home in Sukhumvit Soi 31.

The taxi driver, identified as Uthen Dankhumthod, was later located. He took the violin to Thong Lor police station to be returned to the owner.

Wei said that he was thrilled to get his violin back. He also performed briefly with the instrument for the police.

Uthen said that after realising that his passenger left the violin in his taxi’s back seat, he drove back to the destination but could not find the passenger. He kept the violin in the taxi’s trunk and told the taxi company owner about the matter before going to bed.

The next morning, the cabdriver got many missed calls from JS 100 traffic radio station, which provides help in lost-and-found cases. He called back to arrange for the violin’s return.

Uthen said the absent-minded professor did not forget to offer him a reward.