South Carolina Restaurant Owner Returns $12,000 to Former Owner on Live TV—Here's Why It Matters

Sak Yiengjuntuek owns Lemongrass Pho&Thai Cuisine in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but his real achievement isn’t measured in restaurant profits. While cleaning out equipment left behind by the restaurant’s previous owner, he discovered $12,000 in cash hidden inside an old sunglasses case. Rather than treat it as a lucky break, Sak immediately recognized the money belonged to someone else. When his attempts to reach the former owner through the saved phone number failed, he could have accepted defeat. Instead, he contacted local NBC affiliate WMBF to help track the guy down and share his story on live television.

That’s when something incredible happened. While being interviewed on-air, Sak remembered he had another phone number for the previous owner saved under a different name in his contacts. He called right then and there, during the live broadcast, to deliver the news. The moment took on even deeper meaning when he learned the former owner was struggling with significant health problems. Getting that $12,000 back wasn’t just about money—it arrived at a moment when this person genuinely needed it. In a world where most of us are just trying to get ahead, Sak’s decision to do the right thing, regardless of whether anyone would ever know, stands out.

Stories like this matter because they remind us that integrity still exists. The choice to return something that didn’t belong to him cost Sak personally, yet he chose honesty anyway. That kind of character is contagious. It makes us wonder what we’d do in a similar situation and pushes us to consider our own ethical choices. What would you have done if you’d found that money?