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NT$800,000 in cash thrown in trash returned to family

Garbage collectors stumble upon a bag containing NT$800,000, promptly return it to relatives of deceased owner

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(Photo courtesy of Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection)

(Photo courtesy of Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A bag containing NT$800,000 (US$26,500) in cash was returned to the family of the deceased owner on Monday, after it had been discovered by sanitation workers in Taoyuan recently, according to the city's Department of Environmental Protection.

Three garbage collection workers at the Zhongxing Road landfill in Taoyuan's Pingzhen District were in the process of breaking down a large metal cabinet when they discovered it contained a brown paper bag, which appeared to be from a fast food restaurant. Inside the bag was a massive stash of NT$800,000 in NT$1,000 notes.

When the workers encountered the money, they immediately notified their supervisor and took the cash to the local police station. The police were able to identify the relatives of the owner of the cabinet who received the money yesterday.

The mysterious bag of money belonged to a person who was recently deceased, according to Shen Chih-hsiu (沈志修), director-general of the Taoyuan Department of Environmental Protection.

After an investigation, the police found that the owner of the money had recently died and his brother had his household belongings thrown out, not knowing that there was a large sum of money still sequestered inside one of the cabinets.

After the family received the money from the police, they praised the city's sanitation workers and police for helping to relocate and return the funds.