Beijing: An old lady in China had to pay heavily for not keeping her cash worth over USD 65,000 in banks as termites ate away the currency and left bits and pieces for her.
Six months ago, the children of the old lady in Shunde in south China`s Guangdong province gave her CNY 400,000 (USD 65,240).
Instead of depositing the cash in bank or cash box, she simply put the banknotes in a plastic bag and placed it in a wooden drawer on the first floor at home.
She did not notice that her cash was gnawed by termites until this April when she opened the drawer to take some money to decorate her house, Guangzhou Daily reported today.
"The remains of the cash stick together by termite`s mucus ..." she said.
Bank staff scanned and manually counted the remaining banknotes.
After a day`s work, nearly CNY 340,000 (USD 55,454) was identified.
But the old lady lost about CNY 60,000 (USD 9,786).
PTI
