Disposition of a lost-and-found object

According to the Chinese laws, a lost-and-found object shall be returned to the right holder of the object. The person who finds such object shall notify the right holder to claim the object or hand it over to the public security department or any other department in a timely manner. A relevant department shall, after receiving a lost-and-found object, in case it knows the right holder of the object, notify him to claim the object in a timely manner; in case it does not know, it shall publish an announcement on the finding of the lost property in a timely manner. A lost-and-found object shall be properly kept by the person who finds the object before it is handed over to the relevant department and by the relevant department before it is claimed by the right holder of the object. In case the object is damaged or lost deliberately or for gross negligence, the relevant personnel shall bear the civil liabilities.

When obtaining a lost-and-found object, the right holder of the object shall pay necessary expenses to the person who finds the object or the relevant department, such as the cost for safekeeping the object. In case a right holder offers a reward for finding the object, he shall fulfill the obligation of granting the reward when claiming the object.

In case the object is misappropriated by the person who finds the object, the person who finds the object shall have no right to ask for the payment of the expenses paid for safekeeping the object or petition the holder to fulfill the obligation as promised.

A lost-and-found object that fails to be claimed within 6 months from the date when the announcement on the finding of the object is published shall be owned by the State.