While 2020 has been a tough year, there are still moments that bring smiles and comfort to people.
One Julius Ho shared how a taxi driver returned his handphone to him after he accidentally left it behind.
Ho recounted the incident in a Facebook post on Dec. 31 to praise the driver.
Driver made a u-turn to return phone despite being quite a distance away
Ho recalled that he and a friend took a ride from CityCab driver Lim Hong Herng at Kallang Wave Mall on Dec. 30.
While the two of them could cope with the groceries, Lim came out of the car to offer help.
After alighting from the cab, they realised they had left a phone behind.
They tried calling ComfortDelgro Taxi's hotline but they did not manage to speak to anyone after waiting for around five minutes.
Ho and his friend then decided to go up to the apartment so that they can make a call to the phone via an online app.
The phone rang and Lim picked up the call at around 11:40pm. He then agreed to drive back to return the phone.
"He was quite a distance away," Ho said in the post.
Speaking to Mothership, Ho added that Lim was driving towards the city area but he made his way back the soonest possible.
Refused S$50 payment from Ho
To thank Lim for his service, Ho prepared a S$50 note as he went down to meet Lim.
After passing Ho the phone, Lim refused to take the S$50 note or any token of appreciation from Ho.
Ho wrote:
"He refused to accept even a lower sum of money. This went on for a few minutes and after a spirited back and forth, we conceded that he would not accept a cash reward for returning the phone that we had carelessly misplaced."
Angels amongst us during bleak times
Ho said that he was grateful towards Lim who took the time and effort to return him the phone.
During this challenging year when taxi drivers' incomes took a hit, Ho is exceptionally moved that Lim refused any form of cash rewards and did it out of goodwill.
At the end of the post, Ho did a shoutout to thank Lim and wished him a blessed life:
"It is heartwarming to know that even in these sometimes bleak times that there are angels amongst us. Mr. Lim if you see this, I want you to know that you are generous and a truly decent human being, and you made this ending of 2020 more sweet than one could hope for. I wish you a blessed life!😃"
Ho told Mothership that a spokesperson from ComfortDelgro Taxi responded on New Year's Day that the company will be relaying his appreciation to Lim.
Here's the full post:
Top image adapted from TaxiSingapore and Julius Ho's post