Fourth-grader returns lost bag and receives award at school opening ceremony

Pham Nhat Huy, a nine-year-old fourth-grade student in Dak Lak province, was praised at his school’s opening ceremony after returning a lost bag containing nearly 4.9 million dong.

Huy found the black bag at about 5:30 p.m. on August 29 while playing near fields in My Lam village, Hoa Thinh commune. He and his grandfather then brought it to Hoa Thinh commune police and asked officers to find the owner.

Police found 4,872,000 dong in cash and several personal items inside. The bag contained no identification documents, so officers published information seeking its owner. About 40 minutes later, they identified the bag as belonging to a visitor from Ho Chi Minh City who had lost it while visiting Hoa Thinh.

The property was returned to the woman that same evening. On September 5, Hoa Thinh Party Secretary Phuong Van Lanh and Dong Khoi Primary and Lower Secondary School leaders presented Huy with letters of commendation and a gift during the opening ceremony for the 2026-2027 school year. The woman expressed gratitude for the boy’s honesty and responsibility, as well as for the police response.