SHANGHAI: A Good Samaritan in China who got out of her car to help an old man crossing a busy road was shocked when her kind deed was greeted with a literal slap in the face.
The incident, captured on a viral video, has trended on mainland social media after the clip, filmed by a car driver who was in the vehicle behind the woman, was widely circulated online, Elephant News reported.
The old man, who was about 70 to 80 years old, was carrying two heavy bags and stumbling while walking across the road in Lanzhou, northwestern Gansu province, at dusk on Sept 12.
He was not on a zebra crossing, so several cars did not give way to him but instead passed close to him, making his walk more difficult.
While the old man was in the middle of the road, the woman left the front passenger seat of the car she was in and jogged towards him.
She used her left arm to support him while her right arm waved traffic past.
However, she was stunned when the old man turned around and slapped her face.
The blow was so hard it made her glasses fly off.
After picking up her glasses, she looked at the old man with a puzzled expression before returning to her own car.
She and her husband reported the incident to the police, who found the old man and told him to apologise.
The story has gone viral online.
“We should all comfort this woman. I feel how sad she must be from being slapped by a person she is helping,” one internet user said.
Another person said: “The old man’s slap will make those in need of help not able to receive timely aid any more.”
“The old man should be detained and made to pay the woman compensation,” said a third.
However, another online observer took a different view: “Perhaps the old man thought the woman was a bad guy as she suddenly approached him, without telling him what she was doing.”
It is not unusual for Good Samaritans to be falsely accused in China.
In May, also in Gansu, a woman who went to the aid of an old man in her residential community was framed by his family after the man fell.
She reported the incident to the police and her name was cleared after surveillance footage showed she was not at fault.
The woman said that she was the victim of online violence as a result, and she became depressed. - South China Morning Post
