Mum and daughter to mystery cabby with a kind heart: Thank you!
The ride may have lasted no more than five minutes, and the fare not more than $6 but the kind gesture shown by a taxi driver was enough to leave a lasting impression on mother and daughter.
Three afternoons a week, Miss Mandy Tan and her mother, Mdm Koh Siew Hoon, who is blind and a diabetic, will take a taxi from their flat in Bedok South to a National Kidney Foundation (NKF) dialysis centre along New Upper Changi Road.
Mdm Koh, 41, has been suffering from kidney failure since 2007 and has to go for regular dialysis. .
“The ride is not more than five minutes but because of my mother's condition we would get a taxi to go to the centre,” said Miss Tan, 20 in an interview at their flat on Wednesday afternoon (Nov 12).
Cabby refused payment
It was on one of those taxi rides that she noticed the taxi driver did not turn on his meter and did not ask where she was going.
“When we reached the destination, I tried to pass him some money but he refused,” she said.
“He told us that this was already the fifth or sixth time that he picked us up. He did not accept payment from us then and he did not want to accept payment from us this time either,” said Mdm Koh.
“I was quite surprised and a bit paiseh (ashamed).
"I just said 'Thank you' and left the cab,” she added.
“I was also quite shocked. To have a total stranger help you out of the blue is quite amazing," said Miss Tan, 20, who is a student at ITE College East.
Later, Miss Tan posted a please on Facebook, asking for help in finding the kind-hearted taxi driver.
"The only reason why I posted it was that we wanted to express our gratitude towards him," said Miss Tan.
Along with her plea, she posted a picture of the back of the taxi driver, as well as his number plate, SHB 2963C.
A screengrab of the post asking for help to find the taxi driver. Photo: Facebook screengrab/Dee Lovesyouzx
The post received over 500 shares, and was also picked up by a local news site, but still Miss Tan could not find the the taxi driver.
The New Paper reached out to ComfortDelGro in an effort to connect mother and daughter with the taxi driver.
We understand that the driver, who wishes to be known only as Mr Leow, would rather his good deed be left unreported.
“To Mr Leow, we just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Mdm Koh.
Have you met any other kind cabbies?
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