Nisham Kunnath Valappil, a cleaner at Dubai Festival City mall, is being recognised for his honesty and dedication for returning Dh100,000, which he found during his duty, to its rightful owner.

The cleaner’s company – Transguard – has awarded him with a cash bonus, a plane ticket home, an extra seven days’ holiday and a trophy to celebrate the occasion, and the title of “Star of the Year.”

“During my everyday duties at the mall I found a bag in the male prayer room. I immediately contacted my supervisor and together we realised that someone had left a great deal of money,” said Nisham. “I’m extremely proud to have received this award from Transguard, to be recognised by the senior management team is a great honour, more important is the bag was able to be returned to its owner.”

The runner-up award for ‘Star of the Year’ went to Muhammed Samar Shaheen, a loader at the Dubai International Airport, who found a substantial amount of money while offloading a flight. For making sure the money was returned to its owner, Muhammed was awarded a trophy and a cash bonus.