Easy come, easy go?

The happy ending is very pleasant, but there's still one thing we don't understand about the Dh1.2 million in cash and diamonds left in a taxi.

Everybody loves a happy ending and a heartwarming story of someone doing the right thing. But we have one question, still, about the story in The National's news pages today about the Dubai cabbie who promptly returned Dh1.2 million worth of cash and diamonds left in his cab on May 25.

There is no doubt of the facts: taxi driver Abdul Halim Mohammed Manu, who earns Dh3,500 per month, turned up at a police station that day to turn in Dh200,000 in cash, a chequebook and diamonds worth Dh1 million, property that had been left in the boot of his taxi not long before by an Egyptian businessman.

Nor is there any doubt that Mr Manu, 31, deserves the commendation he received this week from Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, and the thanks he got from Dubai Taxi Corporation. The businessman reportedly gave Mr Manu a reward; we trust it was suitably substantial.

But here's what still puzzles us: how in the world can anyone forget Dh1.2 million in the back of a taxi - or anywhere else, for that matter?

Maybe taxis should be equipped with signs to remind passengers: "Please be sure to take all your belongings with you when you leave, especially if they're worth as much as a small villa."