Zing Muse – Seeing the motorbike taxi driver sitting there in a daze after being cheated out of both the fare and his phone by a customer, dozens of strangers donated and bought him another one on the afternoon of April 4.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Lang, 51 years old, a motorbike taxi driver residing in Lien Chieu district, said that at around 10am on April 4, a young man in his 30s hired him to take him from Da Nang Hospital to Dien Ban General Hospital (Quang Nam province) and then back for 200,000 VND.

Arriving at Dien Ban General Hospital, this man told the driver to wait at a cafe while he went to fill out the transfer paperwork for his mother. Using the excuse that he didn’t have a phone, the customer asked to borrow Mr. Lang’s phone to go to the hospital to take some necessary photos.

“Seeing that they needed it urgently and were in a difficult medical situation, I didn’t think twice and gave it to them,” Mr. Lang said.

After more than 30 minutes without seeing the customer return, Mr. Lang had a feeling that something was wrong, so he borrowed the phone of the coffee shop owner to call and ask. The other end of the line picked up and said to wait because the procedure had not been completed.

However, the people around him became suspicious and urged him to call back immediately, but the phone was not reachable. At this time, the driver realized that he had been scammed out of the phone he had just bought for 4.5 million VND a month ago, and was still paying in installments.

“I knew there was no hope, but I kept waiting because I felt sorry, because the debt had not been paid yet and the phone was lost,” Mr. Lang said.

He went to the police station to report but there was no information about the perpetrator. Reviewing the images taken from the security cameras of the houses around the hospital gate, the scammer was wearing a hat and a mask that covered his face, everyone thought it was very difficult to identify.

Seeing the male driver sitting absent-mindedly, his eyes looking hopelessly towards the hospital gate, some people at the cafe took pictures and posted them on social media, calling on the young man who had tricked him into taking the phone to return it because his family’s circumstances were very difficult, and the phone was his “bread and butter”. Some online forums shared the pictures with the appeal but there was no response.

Reading the post, Ms. Hoai Nguyen, residing in Da Nang, tried every way to connect with the driver. “Seeing him sitting there sadly, I couldn’t hold back my tears, so I had the idea of giving him a phone,” Ms. Hoai recounted.

That same afternoon, she made an appointment with the male driver to come to her house to buy a new phone for nearly 4.3 million VND from donations from herself and her friends.

Holding the new phone in his hand, the 51-year-old man repeatedly thanked the community for their help.

Mr. Lang said that he had been a traditional motorbike taxi driver for nearly 10 years and recently switched to technology-based motorbike taxis. He is the main breadwinner in his family, raising two children who are in school, so he is often in need.

“For many people, a phone is not worth much, but for my family, it is a big asset. I hesitated for a long time before daring to buy it in installments to serve my work,” he said.

Sharing with VnExpress, Ms. Hoai said that in Mr. Lang’s situation, if it weren’t for her, someone else would have helped. “Honestly, I just hope he will soon have a phone, making it more convenient for making a living,” she said.

The story of the male driver being helped by strangers has attracted tens of thousands of “likes” on social networks. Many strangers left comments thanking the donors and condemning the actions of the scammer.

“Vietnamese people always maintain the spirit of mutual support. At times like these, we can see the warmth of human love,” wrote a netizen named Minh Toan.

Linda (Community)