Should a thief who stole a Beijing student's university admission letter and then voluntarily returned it for fear of ruining his future be praised?

A few days ago, something happened that was both infuriating and laughable. Xiao Zhang, who was preparing to go to university in Beijing, had his electric bike stolen by a thief, along with his university admission letter. His anxious family called the school, and after asking about the admission procedures, they unexpectedly received a call from the thief, who said he was willing to voluntarily return the admission letter.

The thief said his conscience had pricked him and he did not want to ruin Xiao Zhang's bright future, so he decided to make contact on his own initiative and return the letter.

The electric bike and the stolen admission letter disappeared

A few days earlier, Xiao Zhang had gone to a classmate's home in the city to discuss matters about going to university. "At the time, I also put the admission letter in the storage box of the electric bike," Xiao Zhang said. He had been admitted this year to a well-known university in Beijing and the semester was about to start.

When Xiao Li came out of his classmate's home, he found that the electric bike parked at the door was gone. "The admission letter was stolen by someone, how am I supposed to go to university?"

Receiving a call from the thief wanting to return the admission letter

On the phone, the thief discussed with Xiao Zhang how to safely return the admission letter. "When I got the call and heard the thief say he wanted to return the letter to me, I was quite grateful," Xiao Li said.

The thief said he did not want to ruin the other person's future

According to the thief, when he opened the storage box of the stolen electric bike the next day, he found a black envelope inside. In the envelope was an admission letter from a university in Beijing, with Xiao Zhang's name and phone number written on it. It was only to avoid delaying Xiao Zhang's university enrollment that the thief made the call.

The thief later had a change of heart and returned the admission letter to its owner. Should such a thief be praised?