Man reunited with gold bars worth NT$5 million left in Miaoli park

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) A 67-year-old man has been reunited with seven gold bars worth an estimated NT$5 million (US$161,628) found in a park in Miaoli City Wednesday morning.

The Miaoli City Office said it received a report early in the morning of a pile of valuables left in a flowerbed near the Martyrs'Shrine Plaza in Maolishan Park.

Staff dispatched to the site discovered seven gold bars weighing a total of 35 taels, along with NT$60,000 in NT$1,000 bills and more than 10,000 Reminbi, according to the office.

An insurance certificate found at the scene led police to a jewelry store, which confirmed that the man, a Mialio resident living alone, had purchased the gold bars in August, the office said.

After being contacted at a phone number provided by the jewelry store, the man told police that he had spent the previous night sleeping in the park and had forgotten to take his valuables with him when he left in the morning.

The man said that he carried the gold and cash with him because he feared they might be stolen if left at home, according to local police.

Miaoli County Social Affairs Department Director Chang Kuo-dong (張國棟) said social workers would visit the man to offer assistance and advise him on safer ways to store his assets, such as using a bank safe deposit box or setting up a trust.

The county government provides care for elderly individuals living alone through home visits, Chang said, adding that, in this particular case, social workers will be assigned to check on the man's well-being.