Workers find pot full of gold coins during demolition works, but now risk conviction: « They thought they had won the jackpot » (inland)
Theme image. – © Getty Images
During the demolition of an old home in Assebroek, three workers discovered a pot of gold pieces in a hidden space. Instead of looking for the owner, the men divided the loot together. But that can break them sour now. « However, they had certainly received a finder’s remuneration, » said the lawyer of a 93-year-old woman, who demands 240,000 euros in compensation.
When an old woman moved to a residential care center in 2018, she decided to sell her home in Assebroek. The new owner ordered Zedelgemnaar FM (46) at the end of 2019 to demolish the house. Ypresling TD (46) and PK (50) from Oostkamp helped him with this. But during the works their tap dropped through a basement vault. In this way a hidden space was released that was not indicated on their plans.
Their surprise was great when the men found a pot full of golden investment coins in the small space. They decided to distribute them among each other. It concerned South African Krugerrand and coins of 50 Belgian ECU. Exactly how many coins were in the pot is food for discussion, but it is certain that M. 67 copies sold in Antwerp for 52,000 euros. TD would have raised 30,000 euros, while PK only received one currency.
Forget
But the men could not enjoy their happiness for a long time. A witness told the neighbors a story about a bag of jewelry that would have been found in the home. They, in turn, informed the children of the previous owner of the house, a 93-year-old woman in the meantime. She had lost sight of the fact that the coins were still in the space behind the safe. In March 2020, the children filed a complaint.
More than five years later, the men appeared before the Bruges criminal court on Tuesday. The lawyer of the very elderly woman claimed 240,000 euros in damages. « Because so many would be worth these coins, » he said. « Instead of looking for the owner, they put the coins in their own pocket. They thought they had won the jackpot. If they had returned the gold to my client, they would certainly have received a finder’s remuneration. »
Hidden
The Public Prosecution Service asked for a conviction for theft, but did not ask for a concrete punishment. The men themselves went for the acquittal. « This was not theft, but a find, » it sounded to their lawyers. « They had no intention of stealing. » Mathieu Langerock and Ruben Verbrugghe, lawyers of FM and TD, emphasized that the civil party in no way proves to be the owner of the coins.
According to Bart Bleyaert, PK lawyer, the gold must be considered a hidden treasure. « And the Civil Code states that it must be distributed between the finder and the owner of the plot when discovering. But at the time of the find, the civil party was no longer the owner of the home and therefore not of the coins. Her claim for damages must therefore be rejected. »
The Bruges court will rule on 16 September in the remarkable case.
