Vietnamese navy captain returns wallet containing over $3,000 to Kyrgyz man

On Monday morning, police in Nam Nha Trang Ward, Khanh Hoa Province returned the brown leather wallet with the money and identification documents to the foreign man.

The current Khanh Hoa Province is formed by merging the former Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan Provinces, effective from July 1, as part of the recent major administrative restructuring in which Vietnam’s total number of provinces and cities was reduced to 34 from 63.

Vietnam also eliminated the district-level administrative unit nationwide starting July 1 and restructured local administrations into a two-tiered system, including provinces/cities and wards/communes.

Nam Nha Trang Ward is the result of the merger of the former Phuoc Hai, Phuoc Long, and Vinh Truong Wards as well as Phuoc Dong and Vinh Thai Communes of the erstwhile Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province.

According to the ward police, at around 11:00 am on July 4, Nguyen Thi Yen, 43, a captain at the Vietnam Naval Academy, discovered the wallet containing cash in both Vietnamese dong and U.S. dollars and identification papers.

She brought the wallet to the Nam Nha Trang Ward police station and asked for help in locating the owner.

After receiving the wallet, police officers quickly conducted verification and, by 2:00 pm the same day, contacted the owne, Rystaev Ilgis, a 31-year-old Kyrgyz national currently living and working in Khanh Hoa.

He stated that he had lost the wallet at about 10:30 am on July 4 while walking along a local street.

Upon receiving his belongings, Ilgis expressed surprise and gratitude for the kindness of the Vietnamese people and the prompt, professional actions of the local police.