SINGAPORE - When they received 65,700 yuan (S$13,400) extra due to a mistake their money changer made, an honest couple from China returned the cash to the Chinatown outlet and were lauded for their action.

The couple had asked to exchange 207,300 yuan to Singapore dollars at the Crante Money Changer at People's Park Complex on June 3.

The money changer mistakenly keyed in 273,000 yuan instead, converting it into S$55,600 and handing the couple S$13,400 extra in cash, Shin Min Daily News reported on Friday (June 9).

The man said in a post on Chinese social media platform WeChat that he called the money changer once they returned home and found out about the mistake.

"I hurriedly called them, and they hadn't even realised! When I told them about it, they checked their records and thanked us, saying they had run into good people," he wrote. "My daughter proudly said: 'No need to thank us, we are Chinese!'."

According to his post, they returned the money a day later.

A partner at the money changer, Ms Huang Suzhen, told Shin Min that the couple, who are in their 30s, are her regular customers.

Ms Huang, 52, said her staff were all moved by the couple's good deed, and one employee even bought the pair bak kwa as a thank you gift. The employee who made the mistake was someone with more than 20 years of experience.

Ms Lang Shean, a 38-year-old money changer at Marina Square's Silver River Money Changer, told The Straits Times that it is common for customers to return money when given excess amounts by mistake.

But she said she has not encountered having such a large amount returned.

"Recently there were a few times when customers returned money," said Ms Shean, who has worked in the business for the last 10 years. "But they were rather small amounts like a few hundred dollars."

"In general, people are quite honest," she said.

Crante Money Changer did not respond when contacted by ST.