Son of coffeeshop owner discovers over $1 million stashed away in father's ceiling

As kids, we’ve all heard that a pot of gold can be found at the end of a rainbow, but for the son of a coffeeshop owner, the treasure was stashed away in his father’s ceiling. 

The man, the second in line of four brothers, was fixing a heater in his father’s bungalow, when he discovered more than $1,000,000 in cash hidden in the plastered ceiling, reports Lianhe Wanbao. 

Upon the discovery, the coffeeshop owner decided to bestow the money on two of his children, his second and youngest sons, who are 56 years old and 45 years old respectively.

Their father has since passed away on May 28, 2010.

He was 80 years of age, and survived by seven children -- three daughters and four sons.

After his passing, the youngest son denied having received any money, and took an additional $500,000 from the assets left behind.

This led to a family dispute which subsequently led to a lawsuit, in which the two son, who is also the appointed executor of his father’s will, accused his youngest brother of redrawing $500,000 and $613,000 on two separate occasions in 2010. 

He also claimed that the accused took two Rolex watches.

The accused has denied his accusations, claiming that their father had gifted him the $500,000 before his death and told him to take another $613,000 from inheritance to pay for miscellaneous expenses and the cost of looking after their mother. 

The Supreme Court has awarded the case to the plaintiff. 

The Court noted that the plaintiff found the cash, which amounted to more than $1,000,000 in the plastered ceiling between 1992 and 1994 while fixing a heater.

After which, his father had generously given $500,000 to him and his youngest brother.

The plaintiff then engaged a bank employee, who deposited the sum into various accounts. 

The plaintiff also maintained that his father had intended to give the accused $500,000, and had wired the money into the accused's account while he was alive. 

The judge pointed out that the discovery of the cash happened over 20 years ago, and the accused had no evidence to substantiate his claims that his father had approved his drawing out of money, even on grounds of looking after the estate and his mother. 

The judge has ordered the accused to pay $1,113,000, with additional interests to the plaintiff, the executor of his father’s will.