A branch of China Guangfa Bank has apologized to a customer and sought police assistance after the customer was given fake Hong Kong dollar banknotes.

The customer, surnamed Shi, withdrew eight banknotes each with a face value of HK$1,000 from a counter at the Houjie branch of CGB last week. But when a friend of Shi's tried to use one of the notes to go shopping in Hong Kong, the note was found to be fake and he was detained by police.

Shi then returned to the CGB Houjie branch in the city of Dongguan and withdrew another four notes worth HK$1,000 each on Tuesday.

Shi immediately called local police for help when he found all the notes he withdrew were also fake.

After police arrived at the scene, CGB admitted its clerks had given fake notes to Shi and apologized. CGB promised to compensate Shi and his friend.

After an investigation, CGB explained the fake notes had been deposited by a client, and the bank clerk and the machine failed to identity the notes as being counterfeit because they were of high quality.

The fake notes were printed on real notes from Zimbabwe, CGB said.

CGB promised to send special personnel to Hong Kong to Shi's friend to explain to local police and relevant departments the case to help clear Shi's friend's name if required.

CGB has also sought police help to further investigate the case and reported it to the People's Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission for recording.