Elderly Chinese woman’s death fuels public outrage over banks rigid withdrawal rules

[misskit]

A video of an elderly Chinese woman who died outside a Hunan bank after she was required to appear in person to make a withdrawal to pay for her medical expenses has sparked social media outrage over rigid banking regulations that prioritize security over accessibility.


The woman who was hospitalized for hemiplegia, a condition in which one half of the person’s body is paralyzed, was brought to the bank in a wheelchair by her family after the bank insisted she come in person to withdraw her fixed deposit of 50,000 yuan (or US $6,937), according to a video posted by her nephew on Weibo on Wednesday.


The critically ill woman died at the entrance of the Agricultural Bank of China’s Tianxin branch in Zhuzhou City of the central Chinese province of Hunan before she could complete the withdrawal procedure, the nephew said in the video.


The money was meant to be used for the elderly woman to receive further treatment at another hospital that she was being transferred to, he said.


According to Chinese state-owned local news outlet Da Wan News, she repeatedly failed to pass the facial recognition as she was too ill to blink or shake her head as required during the screening and died after nearly an hour-and-a-half of such failed attempts.


In China, banks like the Agricultural Bank of China have made it mandatory to use facial recognition technology to process withdrawals. As a result, there have been similar incidents in the past where families have been forced to take the elderly, including a dying father in 2023 and another in 2024, to the bank to get their money.


These incidents have typically triggered widespread outrage on Chinese social media platforms. Discussion threads around the latest one on social media, particularly on Weibo, garnered millions of views, as netizens criticized the bank for lack of flexibility and sensitivity to the concerns and needs of vulnerable customers.


“The management systems of many of our banks have long been integrated with many advanced technologies, but the only thing missing is: humanity,” wrote one netizen named Duan Lang.


“The bank requires the person to withdraw money in person out of consideration for the safety of customer funds, but shouldn’t the regulations be humane? When facing such a special seriously ill elderly person, can’t they handle it flexibly?” asked another netizen.


Chinese netizens also called for reforms in regulations and policies at institutions across industries to show more empathy for sick and elderly customers and offer alternative solutions to accommodate their needs.


“Sometimes the bank’s requirements are too harsh … Can’t we provide door-to-door service in special circumstances?” asked one netizen.


“When formulating rules, shouldn’t all industries consider the needs of special groups and show more humane care? Don’t let the ‘system’ become an excuse to hurt others,” wrote one netizen named Snowstorm.


“The real issue is that the financial regulatory agency lacks detailed regulations … (and) prioritizes bank security,” Pang Jiulin, an attorney working at a law firm in Beijing, said on Weibo.


Regarding this week’s incident, a staff member of the Shifeng District office – one of the four urban districts of Zhuzhou City in Hunan province – said the police at its Tianxin subdistrict have intervened and are investigating the matter.


The Agricultural Bank of China’s Zhuzhou branch said the bank has set up a special working group to fully cooperate with police on the investigations.

Elderly Chinese woman’s death fuels public outrage over bank’s rigid withdrawal rules – Radio Free Asia

[Shutree]

The critically ill woman died at the entrance of the Agricultural Bank of China’s Tianxin branch in Zhuzhou City of the central Chinese province of Hunan before she could complete the withdrawal procedure

The bank wins. It could take a while for the family to get that money now.

[39TG]

There have been many reports of Chinese banks making it difficult for customers to withdraw their money. The Chinese banking system appears to be in deep shxt.

[Shutree]

The Chinese banking system appears to be in deep shxt.

It is. Hard to see how it will improve under the current leader. Of course things can change and rumours abound; perhaps Xi has suffered a mini-stroke, perhaps he will be replaced soon, perhaps the leaked succession is utter nonsense, perhaps the faction under Deng Xiaoping's son can win the leadership race. The fact that there are already leaks suggest change is afoot.
Whatever happens, it is unlikely to be fast and the depth of shxt in the real estate sector which is dragging down the banks and holding back consumer spending is just unfathomable.
With consumers not spending at home as the government wishes, it is easy to understand why they are not coming to Thailand to splash the cash. Rumour has it that it isn't always the individual's choice, that the government has made it more difficult for people to travel abroad.

[taxexile]

could have been worse.

Brazilian woman arrested after taking corpse to sign bank loan: ‘She knew he was dead’

Shock in Brazil after woman is arrested and charged with violating a corpse and attempted theft through fraud

Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Wed 17 Apr 2024 18.12 BST
When Érika de Souza Vieira wheeled her lethargic-looking uncle into a Brazilian bank, clerks quickly sensed something was amiss.

“I don’t think he’s well. He doesn’t look well at all,” remarked one distrustful employee as Vieira tried to get her elderly relative to sign off on a 17,000 reais ($3,250) loan.

Paulo Roberto Braga was indeed indisposed. In fact, the 68-year-old appears to have been dead.

Shortly after entering the lender in Rio late on Tuesday with her late uncle, Vieira was arrested and charged with violating a corpse and attempted theft through fraud, according to the Rio newspaper O Dia.

“She knew he was dead … he had been dead for at least two hours,” the investigating officer, Fábio Luiz Souza, told the breakfast news program Bom Dia Rio on Wednesday.

“I have never come across a story like this in 22 years [as a cop],” added Souza, who said visible signs of livor mortis left no doubt as to Braga’s state.

Footage of Vieira’s surreal and macabre alleged attempt to cash in on her relative’s corpse has gone viral on social media, with Brazilians voicing stupefaction at the scene.

At one point in the images – which bank workers began filming after smelling a rat – one suspicious employee comments on Braga’s pallid complexion. “That’s just what he’s like,” Vieira replies, before trying to place a pen in his limp hand once again.

Brazilian journalists shared their viewers’ bewilderment.

“It is just unbelievable. It seems like a wind-up, but this is serious,” the news presenter Leilane Neubarth exclaimed as she told viewers about the scandal on the network GloboNews. “She has gone into the bank with a cadaver – and has tried to get money with a human being who is dead.”

Another journalist, Camila Bomfim, was similarly stunned. “This is the last straw … This goes beyond all limits because there can be no doubt … about the difference between a living person and a dead person,” Bomfim said.

Ana Carla de Souza Correa, a lawyer representing Vieira, insisted it was not. “The facts did not occur as has been narrated. Paulo was alive when he arrived at the bank,” Correa told reporters, claiming there were witnesses who could prove that. “All of this will be cleared up,” the lawyer added. “We believe in Érika’s innocence.”

The police chief Souza said he was also investigating if Vieira was in fact the deceased man’s niece. “Anyone who sees that [footage] can see the person was dead,” he said.

THE GUARDIAN

At one point in the images – which bank workers began filming after smelling a rat – one suspicious employee comments on Braga’s pallid complexion. “That’s just what he’s like,” Vieira replies, before trying to place a pen in his limp hand once again.

reminds me of the dead parrot sketch.