By Monday, about 4,100 yuan ($657) had been returned by 17 passers-by to a migrant worker who lost about 15,000 yuan in Shanghai on Sunday, according to the Sina Weibo released by Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau.

All the money-grabbers who have been found have already returned the money to the migrant worker, surnamed Qin, officers from the bureau told the Global Times Monday.

A number of people have also offered a donation to Qin, according to a local police officer, who said he did not know how much had been donated.

A total of 18,000 yuan in cash, which included Qin's father's and his salary for the past year, slipped out of Qin's back pocket when he fell off a motor vehicle near the intersection of Jianhe and Beidi roads, Changning district of Shanghai.

The cash flew over a wide area and Qin tried to pick up his money while passersby also grabbed some bills, Lu Feng, an officer of the bureau, told the Global Times.

"Under those circumstances, it was difficult for the passersby to identify the owner of the money," Lu said, adding that police found some passer-by didn't take Qin's money on purpose after reviewing surveillance video of the area.

"It only took a few seconds for the passersby to grab all of the money," a witness told Shanghai Television Station on Sunday.

Media reports also said that Qin knelt down and begged the people to return the money but only two people did.

Qin collected about 3,700 yuan by the time police arrived, according to Lu.

Qin is from Anhui Province and works for an express company in Shanghai. His company told the local police that Qin earned about 2,500 yuan every month.

"Qin has returned to his hometown in Anhui Province by train," a local police officer told the Global Times on Monday.

After the case was posted on Sina Weibo Sunday by a local journalist, many netizens showed sympathy to Qin, and urged the money-grabbers to return the money. They encouraged the local police to do everything they can to help Qin get all his money back.

Some said that migrant workers should be more careful with their belongings during the Chinese New Year holiday.

Li Xiang and Chen Xiaoru in Shanghai contributed to this story