When a Hong Kong bank suffered a crushing humiliation after scrapping 83 safe deposit boxes full of cash, jewels and personal items
- DBS Bank was renovating one of its branches in 2004, and sent safe deposit boxes to an industrial crusher; 83 of the boxes still contained property
- Efforts were made to rescue the contents, which by their nature were confidential, and the bank vowed to compensate those who lost their possessions
“Bank junks deposit boxes in renovation blunder,” read a headline in the South China Morning Post on October 6, 2004.
“A Hong Kong bank has blamed human error for an embarrassing blunder – expected to cost millions – in which 83 safe deposit boxes and their contents were discarded as scrap metal,” the report continued.
“DBS Bank (Hong Kong) officials yesterday admitted the boxes had been mistakenly scrapped during renovations to a branch in Mei Foo […] By the time the error was discovered […] the boxes had been crushed by industrial compressors.
“The boxes – which probably held cash, bonds, certificates, jewellery and items of sentimental value – were mistakenly included among 837 empty safe deposit boxes destined for the scrap heap.
“DBS managing director and head of consumer banking, Sunny Cheung, yesterday described the incident as a tragic and upsetting accident. He said teams of workers were attempting to salvage valuables from the crushed metal wreckage.
“‘DBS (HK) will honour its ultimate responsibilities to affected customers. It is committed to taking appropriate remedial action to ensure that such an unfortunate incident does not happen again.’”
The report continued, “Bank officials privately admitted they were facing a nightmare in attempting to determine the true value of most boxes because the details of the contents were confidential and known only to the owners.”
On October 23, the Post reported that “some victims of the DBS safe deposit box debacle who refused to accept fixed compensation of up to [HK]$150,000 […] look set to receive the higher amounts they claimed for the loss of their valuables. They appear to be those with documentary proof of their box’s contents.
“Anthony Yau, who rented one of the 83 boxes destroyed by the bank, said he might receive a cheque for about $300,000 as early as today.”
