In a crowded and chaotic city like Saigon, the chance of finding something you’ve lost can be quite dim.
For a woman in a video clip that surfaced on Facebook on 1st June and immediately went viral, her day could not have been more miraculous when a stranger returned her VND10,800,000 (~USD464.21) which she had lost.
On 21st May, Đặng Thái Sơn, the Good Samaritan also spotted in the video clip, stumbled on a stack of money bound with a plastic rubber band while walking around Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
He immediately took a photo of the cash – that was no small sum in Vietnam – and posted it on his Facebook page with a caption that said, “I found a stack of money in Cho Ray hospital. Any idea how I can return it to its owner?”
The money that Mr Đặng Thái Sơn found
Image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
Also on the same day, with the help of hospital security guards, he arranged to meet with a woman who claimed to be the owner of the lost money, and who said that the money she lost was meant for her mother’s medical treatment.
Sơn had a friend record the whole encounter on video just to make sure he was returning the lost money to the rightful owner.
To verify if the woman was the rightful owner of the money, he asked her questions about the amount of the money, the notes, and the color of the rubber band which she tied the money stack together with.
Anxious and desperate, the woman struggled to remember and said that she had lost just under VND12,000,000 (~USD515.79), specifying that the stack of money had only VND200,000 and VND500,000 notes.
The owner of the lost money answering the questions from Sơn and his friend
Image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
Even though she was the only person who came looking for her lost money from him, he still wanted to make sure that she could give the approximate amount of the precise figure.
“Are you sure about the amount? Is there any chance it could be lower than that?” Sơn kept giving her hints and gently added, “Please understand that I’m only trying to make sure that you’re the owner of the money. If you can’t give me the correct number, I can’t give you the money.”
By this time, the woman looked as if she was on the verge of crying. She anxiously listed out all the items but couldn’t remember the exact amount of the money she lost. Just then, a woman standing nearby was heard in the video telling Sơn that she saw this woman looking for her money all morning.
When Sơn took out the money stack and showed it to her, the woman let out a scream of joy, confirming that it was hers. She immediately picked up the phone and called her mother, crying uncontrollably over the phone, “Mom, a young man found my lost money and just returned it to me. I’m so happy!”
The woman crying over the phone while letting her mom know that she just received her lost money
Image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
She then embraced Sơn, thanking him repeatedly.
Image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
According to his Facebook profile, Sơn is a married man and the owner of Trường My bus company in Dak Lak Province.
Image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
The touching encounter between Sơn and the owner of the lost money caused some onlookers to tear up.
A man in a blue shirt who teared up on the scene
Image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
A man nearby wiped his tears and walked away when he saw the owner sob with tears of joy.
But that’s not all. The clip recording the encounter between Sơn and the owner of the lost money was posted on 20th May, but only started to go viral when it was circulated on BEAT.vn yesterday. The story drew over 50,000 likes at the time of writing, and continued to be shared in many other forums.
Võ Trường, a Facebook user, commented, “One photo and 2 emotions. A man smiling brightly after performing a kind deed. A woman crying madly because she just met a kind man.”
Image credit: BEAT.vn
Netizens also pointed out that Sơn’s left arm is covered with tattoos, which are still considered a taboo in the eyes of many Vietnamese people. Facebook user Ngọc Yến made an insightful remark, “This story shows us why we should never judge a book by its cover.”
Image credit: BEAT.vn
Meanwhile, many netizens raved over Sơn ’s appearance.
“You’re so handsome! How can you be so handsome and so kind at the same time?” said Trần Thị Ngọc Châm, adding 2 emoticons expressing love.
Image credit: BEAT.vn
It’s inspiring to see that good people still exist through these challenging times, when Vietnam has just eased its way out of the pandemic and many are still struggling to return to normalcy.
Not only did Sơn set a great example of compassion and decency, he also restored the woman’s and our faith in humanity. Amid all her worries and tiredness due to having to take care of her mom in the hospital, the woman’s day was lightened up by a stranger and his kindness.
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Cover image adapted from: Đặng Thái Sơn
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