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.
