Honest NYC cabbie

NEW YORK (AP) _ A taxi driver returned a black bag carrying 31 diamond rings to a passenger who earlier had given him a 30-cent tip on an $11 ride. <br/><br/>Hours after Chowdhury Osman dropped off the

Wednesday, February 7th 2007, 8:32 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ A taxi driver returned a black bag carrying 31 diamond rings to a passenger who earlier had given him a 30-cent tip on an $11 ride.

Hours after Chowdhury Osman dropped off the passenger, he tracked her down through a flurry of phone calls and returned the bag, which she had left in the taxi's trunk.

The unidentified woman, who said she was a jeweler, offered a $100 reward. Osman accepted the money to cover the fares he lost while tracking her down.

Osman, a native of Bangladesh, told the New York Daily News that he didn't so much as consider keeping the gems.

``I'm a hard worker,'' the soft-spoken cabbie said. ``I enjoy my life. I'm satisfied. I'm not going to take someone else's money or property to make me rich. I don't want it that way.''

``When I find something left in my cab, and I can return it to the owner, I feel very happy. I feel proud,'' he said.