Honest Cabbie Returns Bag Of Diamond Rings

NYC Taxi Driver Tracks Down Small-Tipping Jeweler Who Had Left Bag Behind

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

Hours after Osman Chowdhury, a native of Bangladesh, had 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. Osman reluctantly accepted the money to cover the fares he lost while tracking her down.

Chowdhury told the Daily News that he never even thought of keeping the gems.

"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.

[einsteinian-2009]

Gives a lot of us something to strive for.

[thenamesdave]

I'm mad at the passenger. She's a cheapskate. But the cabbie is my hero. Do the right thing, and the right thing will happen for you. I've always known what a great place New York is; now we just need to convince the rest of the country, one diamond ring at a time.

[mgpm-2009]

I guess to someone who thinks .30 is a good tip $100 is a fortune. But who is kidding who...anyone who deals in diamonds knows the value of a buck. She's storing up her fortune right here. Hope it'll be enough for her. I doubt it though.

NYC should start good samaritan awards to highlight how there are good eggs in the city, just like this gentleman. God will bless you, Osman, with more than money. Sounds like He's already blessed you with a wonderful outlook and heart.

[thenamesdave]

mgpm, the City of New York does have the Bronze Medallion that was recently presented to Wesley Autrey, the guy who jumped onto the subway platform to save the kid who had fallen, but it is awarded pretty rarely. We need something official for slightly less life-threatening acts of kindness, though. Couldn't agree more.

[themooniac]

a 30 cent tip??? Geez. What kind of person leaves a thirty cent tip? They should include this persons' name in the story as well so the big tipper can receive some credit for her actions as well...poor ol Osman, he'll probably be thinking twice about good deeds in the future.

[imarltool2u]

that woman passenger is just scum twice over. She obviously believed the cabbie was beneath her social standing by giving him an insulting tip, less than 3%. THen she insulted him again by offering a pittance ($100) reward for 32 diamond rings probably worth 1000 times that. THe cabbie knows the true value of life. The passenger knows nothing of life. If the passenger was from the diamond district I hope her colleagues refuse to do business with her since a handshake in that district is the symbol of trust and respect. How can you respect such a schmuck as she?

[meswin]

Too bad for the cheap a$$ jeweller who thought that just because this gentleman drives a cab for a living that he deserves only a paltry 30-cent tip. Shame on her, when she could probably afford much more!! And that ridiculous $100 reward when I'm sure those diamonds were worth more than that. She should feel embarassed for being such a cheapskate!!

[jovie13-2009]

Somebody, please get this cabbie's address. I want to send him a tip for being an honest person. I don't think that he was expecting a reward for returning the diamond rings. He did it to give him peace and a clear conscience. I won't bash the person who gave him a 30 cent tip but rather, I see this as an opportunity to stay on the positive side by rewarding a good deed.

[wizzo7]

I take it by the name and country of origin that Mr chowdhury the cabbie is a Muslim ,it makes one wonder about the morals that these people have as this is a very noble and honest thing to do,i doubt that many people would have returned the jewels,may god bless him and his family and may we all strive to be like him.

[caragat]

wizzo7,
ok what does him being Muslim have to do with morals??? I have nothing against Muslims at all, so please read all of this before you give me a hard time about what I wrote. We all have our own sense of right and wrong whether Christian, Muslim etc. and we may base it on our belief in God but.... I know a Muslim man who happens to be married to my best friend who treats her horribly,lots of infidelities and he lies to the government about how much money he makes, and he puts her and their 3 daughters in terrible situations, only doing the minimum to help them survive while he lives in another state with lots of money like a King! Then he visits them when he needs to prove to immigration that he is married. Is it because he is Muslim that he is like this? There is nothing noble about his actions. Also what is so noble and moral about the Muslims who strap bombs to themselves and go into areas where there are innocent people and blow them up? I am sure there are many Muslims that are wonderful people and I am sure that there are many Christians that are also both wonderful and terrible people. Just to say that he must be Muslim and that is why he has good morals is completely false as you can find both poor examples and good examples of human kindness no matter what religion you are. Your right about one thing though.... we should all strive to be like him, that was an amazing thing he did and may God bless him for it.

[asor1-2009]

I hope the .30c bit## reads ALL of these comments. She is beneath, far beneath, the goodness of Osman.
And, the $100. is what we give when someone returns a purse or wallet with a couple of hundred in it. NOT for the return of mega-moola diamonds. She is a reprobate.

[ericdobbs]

Osman has values. The jeweler has only prices. He is already rich. She will always be poor.

[romeowy27]

Ok I do applad him for giveing them back.
And I dont know[due to the fack it wasnt me] if i would have done the same.
I do on the other hand hope if it happens that I could/would. Yet I dont think God is saying to be more like this man or that man but to be content with yourself and what you have. This man clearly got the messege not be couse of his hariteg, or race but because of the self worth he feels. we should all be willing to work for what we get.
May God bless him for his actions and teach us from his choices.

[jwtumblin]

Honesty is the best policy. I applaud the cabbie for his honesty and diligence in tracking down and returning the diamonds to their rightful owner.

Our country, as a whole, has lost its sense of Honesty and I cannot help but to think of the little saying that says "A Smile is Contagious!" Well hopefully this man's HONESTY is Contagious and others will follow his example.

Our country and private organizations all over the United States (and Abroad) have spent millions if not billions on why our CRIME RATE IS SO HIGH and why is it that our CHILDREN seem to have little or no respect for AUTHORITY. Well I believe that it all goes back to following the 10 COMMANDMENTS, one of which this cabbie followed to the T. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!!!! Maybe, just maybe if we as a society spent more time RAISING our CHILDREN and teaching them MORALS,VALUES AND SELF RESPECT then I honestly believe that our CRIME STATISTICS would drop drastically over the next 10 years and that people's "you owe it to me atttude" would be drastically REDUCED.

HATS OFF TO MR Osman Chowdhury, you are TRULY a LEADER AMONG MEN !!!!

[pghtour]

I would like to view this segment. I need to see the shot of the diamond rings in the case. For verification, that the ring I saw on the tv this morning, may or may not be a ring that was stollen from me in the year 2002. I need to see it again. It was an old setting. Since the day it was stollen from me, whenever I think about it, it makes me feel ill to my stomache. I need to see that segment again. Will it be up later today?