By Coconuts Hong Kong September 30, 2015 / 11:25 HKT
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An elderly man who sells traditional Chinese desserts on the side of Choi Hung Road has seen a generous outpour of support from the public after getting fined HKD6,000 for illegal hawking earlier this month.
The man could not afford to pay it all at once, and asked if he could pay it in monthly instalments of HKD500, but the judge refused.
A kind-hearted Hongkonger by the name of Benson Tsang then decided to rally his friends to raise money to “buy dessert” from the old man, reportsApple Daily. Tsang stressed that this was not a donation, but a purchase, and he only accepted cash donations from his friends and family, initially raising HKD6,000 – enough to cover the fine.
When netizens insisted that they also wanted to help, Tsang finally accepted gift vouchers and supermarket cash coupons worth up to HKD100 from strangers.
One of Tsang’s friends threw in HKD3,000 for the elderly man to get an old dental problem fixed, making the total amount raised about HKD32,950 from roughly 300 people.
They plan to buy a massive amount of dessert from the old man with the funds left over after covering the fine and the costs of the dental operation, about HKD23,950. The bowls and bowls of sugary goodness, which come in at just HKD12 a pop, will be handed out to the needy in Sham Shui Po and other poor areas.
Tsang is confident the old man is happy with the funds raised. “At least, he won’t have to worry just to buy some bread,” Tsang said.
Excuse us while we cry into our bowl of dessert, we think there's something in our eye...
Photo: Screenshots via AppleDaily.com
http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2015/09/30/man-raises-hkd33000-elderly-dessert-vendor-who-was-fined-hawking
