TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Hsinchu County jeweler yesterday lost a NT$5 million (S$212,000) jewel custom-made for a customer via the recycling bin.

The jeweler, surnamed Ou, 47, owns a jewelry store in northern Hsinchu with her husband. Last Friday, right before the couple left the store, Ou's husband hid a client-ordered custom-made jade jewelry valued at NT$5 million in a cardboard box under his desk, disguising it with balled-up pieces of loose paper.

By the next day, Ou's husband had forgotten about his hidden treasure. He took the cardboard box with the jewel inside, along with other recyclables, to Chutung town in Hsinchu, where he dropped everything off for recycling in front of an old store.

Ou was in a meeting yesterday when she realized they had forgotten to take out the jewel. Soon, her husband realized what he had done and the two rushed to the recycling area only to discover that their cardboard box was no longer there.

Ou filed a police report immediately. Officials are currently looking at surveillance videos for any clues to the box's whereabouts. They revealed that video footage show a person on a scooter sifting through the recyclables, but could neither identify the driver nor determine the scooter's license plate number.