The court ruled that he should compensate the owner 8376 yuan, and the man found a 10000 yuan gold bracelet and casually discarded it, thinking it was fake
According to the Southern Morning Post, recently, Ms. He from Fusui County, Guangxi accidentally left a string of gold bracelets in Nanning and found them picked up by a man named Wei. However, Wei claimed to have casually discarded the gold bracelet. Subsequently, Ms. He sued Wei in court. The two level court in Chongzuo City held that after picking up the bracelet, Wei took it away and discarded it without authorization, bearing 80% of the responsibility and compensating Ms. He with 8376 yuan.
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On a night in August 2022, Ms. He and her family accidentally dropped a gold bracelet after driving back to a residential area in Liangqing District, Nanning City. Public video shows that the bracelet was picked up by a man.
After Ms. He reported to the police, it was ultimately confirmed that it was Wei who picked up the bracelet. But Wei said that he casually discarded the bracelet. Both parties failed to reach an agreement, and Ms. He sued Wei to the People's Court of Fusui County on the grounds of improper enrichment, demanding that Wei return a string of gold bracelets worth 10470 yuan.
Wei argued that on the night of the incident, he did not find Ms. He's golden bracelet on the road, but a chain with a keychain. After picking it up, he went to the bright spot to confirm that it was worthless and threw it away. Although Ms. He provided a video and an invoice for purchasing a full gold bracelet, it cannot prove that he picked up the bracelet.
The court held that the bracelet that Ms. He accidentally dropped at her doorstep on the night of the incident matched the chain found by Wei. Ms. He's demand for the return of the bracelet cannot be fulfilled as Wei claimed to have thrown the picked up chain in an unclear place. After Wei found the lost bracelet, he neither promptly searched for the owner nor handed it over to the public security organs and other relevant departments. Instead, he took it away and discarded it without authorization, causing property damage to Ms. He. His behavior was of great fault and he should bear civil liability for compensation. The court, at its discretion, determined that Wei should bear 80% of the compensation liability.
After the first instance judgment, Wei was dissatisfied and appealed to the Intermediate People's Court of Chongzuo City. The second instance court upheld the original judgment. At present, the judgment has come into effect.
According to the presiding judge, the Civil Code stipulates that lost and found property should be returned to the rightful owner, and at the same time, the person who found it has an obligation to keep the lost property. The judge reminded that if lost property is found, it should be properly stored and the right holder should be notified in a timely manner to collect it, or it should be handed over to relevant departments such as public security. If the lost property is damaged or lost due to intentional or gross negligence, the picker shall bear civil liability.
