Chinese man demands 25,000 bank withdrawals of 1 yuan each in privacy row

A customer at a bank in the Zhejiang province of China surprised everyone when he demanded to withdraw his large sum of 25,000 yuan (122,000 baht) 1 yuan at a time, stating the action was a response to the bank’s infringement on his personal life. The Chinese man arrived at the bank on Monday, July 3, intending to withdraw the bulk of his money. But when questioned about his reasons for such a large withdrawal and his intended use of this sum, he became a little disgruntled.

Preserving their bank’s policy, the staff enquired about the reason for the sizeable withdrawal, which the man interpreted as trespassing on his personal affairs. Choosing to stay silent initially, the client offered no reply to the bank’s standard procedure to prevent fraudulent activities.

Regardless, the bank assistant posed the same question again, escalating his dissatisfaction further. In retaliation, he altered his withdrawal request to 1 yuan at a time, implying the bank would need to conduct the procedure 25,000 times. He even threatened litigation if the bank failed to meet this demand.

Matters took a drastic turn when the man resorted to aggressive measures, shouting at the female bank assistant for her ‘unnecessary’ intrusion into his privacy. The episode culminated in the bank assistant, overwhelmed and unnerved, breaking down in tears. After the brief outburst, the man chose to withdraw the entire amount of 25,000 yuan in one go, reported Sanook.

An observer at the scene said that while the bank’s enquiry into the customer’s motives for withdrawing a hefty sum was a measure to circumvent fraud and impersonation, another said that the method invades privacy.

They further commented that identification documents give explicit identification of the parties involved, and the bank could verify the customer comprehensively. Hence, it is understandable why the repeated questioning would agitate the customer significantly.