The Red Cross Society of China said it is investigating its branch in southwest China after it was accused of leaving hundreds of donation boxes uncollected with the money inside growing mold.

The branch, the Red Cross society in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, was reported to have set up hundreds of donation boxes in public venues in 2008 after a devastating earthquake struck the province, Beijing News reported.

But those donation boxes were left unattended until June of this year, and many of them were heavily damaged, with some parts stolen.

The rest of them, about 500 produced by two companies, were abandoned in a warehouse, said the newspaper.

Photos of the abandoned donation boxes show that paper money inside them has gotten moldy. Advertising leaflets and other rubbish were also seen inside the boxes. The 1-meter-tall boxes have TV screens on the top to play charity videos or ads.

According to an official with Maisheng Investment and Management Co, the Chengdu Red Cross signed a contract with the company to install 3,000 donation boxes in Chengdu's public venues after the earthquake on May 12, 2008.

The official told the newspaper that the contract was signed on June 25, 2008, and that Maisheng and another company would invest in building and installing the boxes, while they could play advertising videos on the boxes' screens to earn money. The contract requires that the Chengdu Red Cross collect cash from the boxes regularly, but it didn't say who would be responsible if the devices are broken or money left uncollected.

Maisheng invested 5 million yuan (US$801,205) in a plan to install 1,000 donation boxes in 2008, which would have been the one third of the 3,000 in the contract. But after they set up 726 of the boxes, the Chengdu Red Cross violated the contract due to "changes of personnel," the Maisheng official told the newspaper.

Installation of the remaining 274 boxes was delayed, and after the company negotiated with the Chengdu Red Cross "over hundreds of times," the problem is still not solved, the official added.

A senior Maisheng official surnamed Wei said that of the 726 boxes the company originally installed, only 391 are still in public venues and only 190 are still functioning properly.

The Chengdu Red Cross sent officials to the warehouse to count the cash in the boxes this June.

It announced later that it had received 6,116 yuan from donors.

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