China's elderly and aging population can now avail of the new Sivantos hearing aids. (Photo : Pixabay)
A student in Anhui Province was accused of knocking down an old lady after she had just stopped to help that same old lady get up from the ground on the morning of Sept. 8.
Yuan Dachen, a college junior, stopped to help Gui Qingying, an old lady, as she was bicycling outside her college campus. When Yuan saw Gui on the ground, she decided to help her up.
However, Gui accused Yuan of being the one who knocked her down in the first place.
Unfortunately, the place where Gui fell happened to be a blind spot, with no security cameras to reveal what really happened. Yuan has resorted to the Internet for witnesses.
Two students from nearby schools have turned up, claiming to have witnessed the scene. They testified that Yuan was not the reason Gui had collapsed.
The police are still investigating the case, citing that it is too early to make a conclusion.
However, most netizens have sided with Yuan, believing that Gui framed her.
The reason netizens think the worst of Gui seems to be the prevalence of old people extorting passers-by by faking a fall. It has reached the point that some have reportedly pulled out their smartphones to record themselves before approaching an old person that has just fallen.
The situation has been described as ironic in China, a society that generally prides itself in respecting the elderly.
In the past, a similar incident involved people crossing the street with a fragile object, such as a porcelain vase, and pretending to be hit by a vehicle. The driver would normally end up giving the "victim" a few thousand yuan to avoid legal troubles.
These schemes have been most present in urban areas that have a sizable middle class.
