“I need protection” -Taxi driver who found, returned $50,000 says people are threatening him
An 18-year-old taxi driver who found and returned huge money to a businesswoman has cried for “maximum protection” because some people are threatening him for the gesture, while others mock him, saying he “will live and die poor”.
According to the BBC, Emmanuel Tuloe, 18, a Liberian returned $50,000 (£37,000) after hearing the owner, Musu Yancy, appealing to the radio.
However, some people thought the young man from Gbolor Dialla on the border with Ivory Coast committed an irredeemable mistake for returning the life-changing money to the owner.
His plight gets worse when his friends see his car break down on the road. They tell him that if he had not returned the huge money to Musu Yancy he would not continue driving a rickety car.
“They tell me I will never get rich in my lifetime, they say because I returned such an amount of money I will live and die poor,” Emmanuel Tuloe told the BBC.
He had given the money wrapped in a plastic bag to his aunt for safekeeping, only to hear the owner making a passionate appeal to whoever may have found it to return it.
Pulse reports that the businesswoman reportedly rewarded Tuloe with money and other items including a mattress that he intends to give to his grandmother.
However, his friends and other people in his community don’t think the reward is worth the exceptional honesty he displayed.
He recounted how he was threatened while attending a celebration party at Ms Yancy’s house and he had to return home quickly for his safety.
“I left and returned home because in the crowd were also people who were angry with me for returning the money, they even threatened me, and so right now I need maximum protection.”
Meanwhile, the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission expressed admiration for Tuloe’s action saying it is “deeply touched by the sincerity of the teenager”.
A few friends have also given him thumbs up and urged him to remain honest and sincere.
