Have you heard of the John Cusack movie Money for Nothing? It tells the story of a guy named Joey Coyle who eventually got arrested trying to flea the country after he took two bags of money that fell out of an armored truck. The real Coyle got off on a temporary insanity plea (I suppose we all might lose our senses if we saw a million dollars laying on the ground), but he also hung himself in his basement before the movie opened.
All of this is a way of being dick and reminding you that there is no such thing as free money before I tell you about the somewhat similar situation that unfolded in Hong Kong on Christmas Eve.
Dozens of Hong Kong motorists and pedestrians rushed to grab loads of money after an armored truck’s doors opened by accident on a busy road, spilling about 4.5 million US dollars in HK$500 notes (US$65) on Christmas Eve.
As you can see from the above video, Chinese police are going to have to track down quite a few people who took advantage of the admittedly tempting situation. They’ve already had some luck, according to the South China Morning Post.
Police made the first arrests on Thursday night after more than HK$15 million went missing on Christmas Eve after a money transport van owned by securities firm G4S spilled large bundles of cash over a busy road in Wan Chai.
Two passengers – a 43-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman – in a taxi that passed by Gloucester Road on Wednesday were arrested in Kowloon City and Tseung Kwan O respectively as police announced at around midnight on Friday that a total of HK$5.69 million had been recovered after 30 persons surrendered the banknotes to police.
It’s somewhat surprising to see that 30 people actually did the right thing (or, the thing that would keep them out of a Chinese prison), but I suppose knowing that the cops are out looking for the money and that CCTV footage of the cash grab is all over the place may have nudged them toward their noble deed.
I’d probably keep on driving, but I have a belly tat that says “Mo Money, Mo Problems” that I have to abide by. What would you do, knowing full well that your life could be turned upside down and John Cusack could play you in a middling dramedy if you make the wrong decision?
(Source: Sploid, South China Morning Post)