Cabbie returns 31 diamond rings to passenger

Woman originally gave 30-cent tip, rewards man with $100 for efforts

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updated 9:55 a.m. ET Feb. 7, 2007

NEW YORK - A taxi driver returned a black bag carrying 31 diamond rings to a passenger who earlier had given him a 30-cent tip on an $11 ride.

Hours after Osman Chowdhury dropped off the passenger, he tracked her down through a flurry of phone calls and returned the bag, which she had left in the taxi’s trunk.

The unidentified woman, who said she was a jeweler, offered a $100 reward.

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Chowdhury accepted the money to cover the fares he lost while tracking her down.

Chowdhury, a native of Bangladesh, told the New York Daily News that he didn’t so much as consider keeping the gems.

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“I’m a hard worker,” the soft-spoken cabbie said. “I enjoy my life. I’m satisfied. I’m not going to take someone else’s money or property to make me rich. I don’t want it that way.”

“When I find something left in my cab, and I can return it to the owner, I feel very happy. I feel proud,” he said.