OĽGA ĎURKOVÁ, a pensioner who supports herself and her handicapped son on Sk6,400 a month, plus a tiny income from doing odd jobs, did the right thing when she came across a large sum of lost money on February 20.
Her honesty earned her honours from her town, the SITA newswire wrote.
Ďurková, 61, found a handbag containing Sk750,000 in a bush next to the main road between Dolný Kubín's Banisko and Brezovec neighbourhoods.
"I could not believe my eyes," she told the regional weekly Noviny Orava. "It was filled with five-thousand-crown notes that were bound together by paper strips from a bank. I did not count them, but there was quite a big pile of them. So much money! I got scared. What if someone says I stole it? Or if someone robs me and hurts me?"
Some documents, a set of car keys and a wallet were also in the bag. Ďurková called the owner, who confirmed the bag was his. He said he hadn't noticed he had lost anything until he reached Ružomberok.
"He came in a beautiful black car with dark windows and a Banská Bystrica licence plate," Ďurková said. "He was a nicely dressed man in his fifties, but literally petrified. When I gave him the handbag, he counted the money and said, 'Seven hundred and fifty. It's all there.' Then he started kissing my hands and thanking me."
Ďurková said the man told her the money belonged to his company. As a reward, he promised to buy her a vacation at his own expense.
Dolný Kubín rewarded Ďurková with a gift certificate, a hamper and some flowers, among other prizes.
