Readers respond to hungry girl's plight
THE sad face of a child forced to go hungry because her parents cannot afford to give her pocket money has spurred a generous response from kind-hearted readers.
A barrister, 50, and a saleswoman were saddened by the plight of Li Mun-chuk when they read in last week's Sunday Morning Post that she sometimes had to 'simply bear the hunger pangs' because her parents could not afford to give her money for lunch.
The barrister, a father of two who preferred to remain anonymous, is prepared to give 10-year-old Mun-chuk $100 a week until the end of the century.
Sales representative Donna Kong Ting-yee, who works for a publishing company, got together with a colleague and, after hearing about the barrister's offer, said she would give the same amount to Mun-chuk's twin sister, Mun-chun, and her 12-year-old brother, Cheng-muk.
'Both of us wanted to give the girl $500 each month. But if a barrister is prepared to give her some lunch allowance, my colleague and I may give the same amount of money to her brother and twin sister instead,' she said.
Ms Kong made the offer because she has a six-year-old daughter and said she would be horrified to think of her without food.
'There has never been a case when my daughter would skip her lunch because she had no money. But this little girl can't afford to buy food even when she is hungry,' she said.
'I am also touched that she'd rather spend her lai see on books and stationery instead of the usual sweets or toys.' Mun-chuk's family was stunned but grateful, and happy to accept the surprise offer.
Her mother, Li Wong Sau-kam, a cleaner, said: 'It's really very kind of him to do this for my family.
'I'm happy that some people want to help us. Thank you.' Mun-chuk's parents - her father is a caretaker - earn $9,000 a month.
