10 million rupees from Australia for Sri Lankan's integrity!
The Australian courts paid a glorious tribute to a young man recently for having acted altruistically some 3 years ago. This young man happens to be a Sri Lankan employed in that country. It was by no means a simple matter .... but a case where the boy became a millionaire from that reward itself!
Chamindu Amarasingha was studying Information Technology in Australia during which time he had engaged himself as a Sanitary Worker on a part-time basis in the year 2011.
He had during that period suddenly stumbled across a bundle of Australian cash notes amounting to a lakh in Australian dollars inside a toilet in an office in Melbourne. Though someone else who comes across a large sum of cash such as that if found in an unknown place would put it in his pocket. Chaminda did not do so.
The moment he found this money, he had informed about it to his Sanitary Supervisor and the police. However, though the Australian police tried to search for the rightful owner of the cash for years, the effort was in vain. As such, in order to get a final decision on the matter the police had contacted the courts.
On the case heard in courts, the Magistrate had ordered that a bigger share of the cash found be handed over to Chamindu Amarasingha for his character of integrity. What the Judge had said was that a benefit has to be bestowed for such a gesture of honesty. The amount of cash they had decided to award Chamindu was a sum of 100 lakhs or which amounts to 1 crore in Sri Lankan rupees.
The Australian police too commented that the genuine effort shown by Chamindu Amarasingha to hand over the relevant cash to the rightful owner instead of pocketing it himself should be appreciated.
What Chamindu Amarasingha says is that he is unable to think as to what to do with the money so given to him by the courts. He stated that a part of that money he hopes to spend on behalf of disabled and for charity purposes for the Buddhist Vihara in Victoria. Chamindu also said that he hopes to study IT to secure employment in that field and to lead a normal life.
Presently he lives in New Zealand.