July 22, 2022
What would you do if you found $500 on the street or somewhere outside your house?
This isn't a prank but real. I did find HK$500 the other day and it's worth $63.70 or about Php3,500.
I was buying some items in a dispensary store one morning, and after I paid for the items, I turned my back and placed the change and receipt into my wallet. A folded money bill on the floor caught my sight and since my wallet was open by that time, I picked it up as I thought it was mine, then walked out. As I checked the bill, it was HK$500, and I am certain that I have no HK$500 in my wallet.
I was totally discombobulated about what to do next, and I am certain that the owner of the lost cash was the previous customer. I took a pause and think quickly about what to do with the cash. Should I surrender it to the shop owner? Or to the police station? The customer left a few minutes before me, and I didn't even recognize her face.
Someone told me before that we can not take the money we found on the street here in Hong Kong and we can surrender it to the police station. The station was quite far from our place and I have only limited time to buy things I needed since I have to go back to work.
Questions were running in my mind that I needed to answer too quickly as time was running as well.
If I will give the money to the shop teller, how certain am I that he will give it to the real owner? He may either add it to the shop's cash drawer or put it into his pocket.
What if another customer claims that it was his/hers, even if it isn't?
Was the customer even aware that she lost HK$500 cash?
My time was running so I opted to keep the money and ran an errand. After doing my task, I went back to the shop hoping to see someone looking for the lost cash. But everything seems normal.
What do you think should I do with the money?
Until now, it is still kept in my wallet as I don't want to spend money that doesn't belong to me. My first thought was to give some to the same homeless old woman beneficiary in my Christmas gift-giving and give some to the Catholic church near my place. But I also think if should I give it to my father for his medication for his prostate cancer.
It's not a big amount, but it's not mine so I should spend it wisely or give it to those who really need it. Kindly share your thoughts below.
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siguro pamigay mo nalang sa nangangailangan madam or yes sa papa mo kasi need din namn niya....