Baggage damaged by Customs

[Aprillove]

I recently travelled from Dublin - Amsterdam - Beijing - Dalian with KLM (Aer Lingus partner airline from Dublin).The flight from Dublin to Amsterdam was late arriving, the baggage was not transferred, and I was told I couldn't fly on without it. I was rebooked on a later flight with China Southern Airlines.
The baggage did not arrive in Beijing. I continued to Dalian with China Southern and the luggage arrived the next evening. It had been opened, the contents were topsy-turvy, but more annoying was the fact that Customs had wrenched open one of the loops for the padlock, which was also missing. This was a padlock I had bought for the US that can be opened with a special key. The suitcase is not now secure as one of the loops is missing.
So after all that, can I claim from my household insurance, or from my employer's insurance, or do I forget it? It was a brand new Tripp suitcase - honestly!

[lady_p_gold]

So are you saying that the baggage was locked ? Who had the key ..... can you clarify .... if it was indeed locked then it is quite common for them to wrench it open.