An honest New Plymouth boy has been rewarded for handing over a wallet he found stuffed with cash to authorities.
Sam McIntosh was walking to his friend's house not long after Christmas when he saw a wallet on the ground as he passed Woodleigh School.
"I just thought that's strange so I picked it up," the 12-year-old told Taranaki Daily News.
After checking it for the owner's identification, Sam found the wallet contained "heaps of money".
"There was two compartments, there was the one with 20s and below and the other one with 50s and 100s, there was no coins.
"I thought what am I supposed to do, like oh that's a lot of money," he told the News.
In total there was $1400 in the wallet, more money than any normal 12-year-old could hope to have in their possession.
The thought of pocketing the money for himself never crossed Sam's mind though.
"That would be cool to have that much but I wouldn't do that because I saw that there was a guy in there and I knew I had to hand it in to police because that's the law - my dad is a policeman."
Sam's father Senior Constable Bruce McIntosh processed the wallet back at the police station and to his surprise the owner of the wallet, who was on holiday from Australia, appeared at the counter to claim it.
"The look of surprise on his face, to find it was still full of money was just a cracker," Senior Constable McIntosh said.
The happy owner then gave Sam's father a $100 note to give to his son as thanks for the kind deed.
"That was the nicest thing ever to do, because giving a $100 to a guy that finds his wallet, shouldn't deserve a $100 at all," Sam humbly said.
The 12-year-old says he is still unsure what he will spend his reward on.
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