TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Police in Taichung helped a visitor from the Philippines recover a smartphone he accidentally left inside a taxi during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Filipino man had recently arrived in Taiwan to work at a factory in Hsinchu. During the holiday break, he and three friends, also from the Philippines, traveled to Taichung for sightseeing, UDN reported.

Shortly after arriving in Taichung, the man left his smartphone in the back of a taxi cab near the Taichung High-Speed Rail (HSR) station on Jan. 28. Making matters worse, the phone was not registered in Taiwan, preventing him from contacting the driver.

Realizing his mistake, he approached a police car and tapped on the window for help. Since he could not speak Mandarin, the officer and a group of Filipinos worked together in English to resolve the issue.

Fortunately, officers at Taichung’s Lide Police Station in the Third Precinct were ready and willing to assist. Officer Tseng (曾) reviewed CCTV footage to pinpoint the exact location where the group had exited the taxi.

The initial footage showed the group getting out of the cab, but the taxi number was unclear. Tseng then checked nearby cameras, eventually identifying the cab number and driver on duty, UDN reported.

After a few calls, Tseng reached the driver, surnamed You (游), who confirmed he had found a smartphone matching the description. You had already left the phone with police at the Taichung HSR station for safekeeping.

The relieved visitor was able to recover his lost phone and expressed gratitude to the Taichung police officers for their help and kindness.