Taxi driver Ganeshwar Prakash Raj has a simple yet rewarding motto he lives by.

Whatever he finds in his taxi, he returns to the rightful owner.

That’s exactly what he did last Saturday when he found an iPhone 13 Pro the other day while he was cleaning his taxi.

The iPhone model price range is between $3699 and $4199 at Vodafone Fiji.

A few hours earlier, he dropped off his last customer at Toorak and then picked up his wife to do some shopping.

While cleaning his car, he saw the pricey phone wedged between the backseat.

Mr Raj didn’t think twice about what he did next.

He posted up a lost and found notice on the Fiji Taxis Facebook page and on his profile as well, and waited.

“It must have been ringing but I didn’t hear it,” Mr Raj said at his home yesterday.

“I received a lot of calls from people saying it was their phone.”

Thankfully, Mr Raj was not gullible to fall into the trap of deceivers.

“The only one person who was able to describe the phone knew the password and at about 5:30pm he was at home to pick the phone.

“He offered to give me money as a thank you gesture but I told him that it was okay because it was his phone and I was just returning it to its rightful owner.”

Mr Raj’s act of honesty was widely shared on Fiji Samachar Facebook page. The post received more than 2000 reactions, 224 comments and shared 53 times.

Be Honest

Mr Raj said it was important for Public Service Vehicle (PSV) drivers to be honest and keeping the phone never crossed his mind.

“Always return whatever you find in your vehicle to customers because it was never yours in the first place,” Mr Raj said.

“Life is already tough and you may never know what someone is going through and your honesty can encourage a person to do better and return the favour to someone else.

“I once lost my phone and I know how it feels.

“I hope that everyone is honest no matter what.

“We never know if that person may still be paying for the phone or the money you found may be the only money that the owner has.”

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