Rabbit Away

HE WAS A BROKE MUSLIM IMMIGRANT. HE RETURNED $21,000. THEN HE REFUSED THE REWARD. On Christmas Eve 2009, a 72-year-old Italian tourist named Felicia Lettieri left her handbag in a New York taxi. Inside were more than $21,000 in cash, expensive jewellery and several passports. The money belonged to her family of seven. Police warned them that they were unlikely to see it again. The driver was Mohammad Asadujjaman, a 28-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh. He was a student struggling financially. His hours at a factory had been cut, forcing him to drive taxis to support himself. The money could have transformed his life. Instead, he searched the handbag for an address, borrowed a friend's car and travelled 50 miles to Long Island. Nobody answered the door. He left his phone number and a note promising to keep Felicia's belongings safe. When the family called, he made the journey again. He returned everything. The grateful family offered him a reward. He refused, explaining that his Muslim faith prevented him from accepting it. He credited his mother for teaching him to be honest and work hard. Asked whether he had been tempted to keep the money, he admitted that it would have given him more time to study. But his conscience wouldn't allow it. "I'm needy, but I'm not greedy," he explained. "It's better to be honest." A man struggling to make ends meet had just demonstrated that his integrity was worth more than $21,000.