Our Work & Reports

A member of the public lost his wallet and the next day, some kind-hearted neighbour told him that the wallet had been dropped into a post box. He immediately contacted the Post Office (“PO”) to claim it. However, according to PO’s procedures for handling lost-and-found items, PO staff are in no position to return the items to their owners, and they could only hand them over to the Hong Kong Police Force (“HKPF”). PO staff advised him to report it to HKPF first and the Police would contact him when he could claim his wallet.

Puzzled by PO’s refusal to return the wallet despite that he had already confirmed his identity as the owner, he considered PO’s practice bureaucratic and the procedures for handling lost-and-found items unreasonable. He, therefore, approached The Ombudsman for assistance.

Having studied the information he provided, our Office contacted PO at once to explore straightforward and efficient handling of his case by way of mediation. After checking the status of the requester’s case, PO found that his wallet had been handed over to HKPF. PO then contacted HKPF and helped him claim his wallet from the Police on the same day. During the mediation process, PO explained to him that it had followed the established procedures for handling lost-and-found items. Nevertheless, PO agreed to seek the Police’s advice and then review and improve the relevant procedures.

The requester really appreciated the speedy resolution of his case through mediation by our Office and hoped to see PO expediting the review of the relevant procedures to improve them.