Some might revel in the idea of the privileged grandson of a notorious ex-dictator losing stacks of cash through carelessness on an international flight.
Thanks to one Good Samaritan, that’s not what happened to Nay Shwe Thway Aung, whose grandfather, Than Shwe, ruled Myanmar with an iron fist from 1992 until the transition to semi-civilian government in 2011.
The 24-year-old has been the source of several controversies lately, including a social media storm over a photo that appeared to show him voting in November’s election (for the ruling party, of course) from the comfort of his couch.
According to a story posted to his Facebook account yesterday, the playboy businessman was en route from Paris to Bangkok when $10,000 slipped out of his hand luggage onto the floor.
He walked off the plane and says he “didn’t notice at all” that the money was gone until a member of the Thai Airways staff – named as ‘Danielle’ – came and asked him to check his bags again.
Here’s how he says the dialogue went:
Him : “Did u lose something from your bags?”
Me : “No…I don’t think so..”
Him : “Could you please check your bags again?”
Me : “Sure..give me a second….(Checked first bag) Umm… No… I got everything with me!”
Him : “Could you search another bag as well?”
Me : “Ok…(Searched another bag)…
Oh wait!!… What the h***… The dollars!… I’m losing my dollars!!!”
Him : “How much is the amount sir?”
Me : “It’s about ten thousands..”
Him : “Here’s your money sir..” (He handed me a stack of dollars to me)
Me : “Oh my god!! Holy s***… Where did you find that???”
Him : “It’s on the corridor to the plane..”
Me : “Oh yes!… My bag has a zip underneath (found it open).. It must have fallen from there! I thank you very much my friend… I truly appreciate it!!”
Him : “No problem sir… Have a good flight!”
So a happy ending for everyone. A really happy, happy ending.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Nay Shwe Thway Aung was headed to Paris when he lost the money. In fact, he was flying from Paris to Bangkok. We regret the error.
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