A man was sentenced to three and half years' imprisonment recently for trying to rob a bank. Although the man was forced to raid the bank to get money for the treatment of his son, who almost died after a cherry pit got stuck in his throat, his action cannot be forgiven. The incident, however, also exposes the delay in the social charity system's response, says an article in Youth Times. Excerpts:

The man's son almost choked to death on a cherry pit in May. The delay in removing the pit from his throat and the resultant lack of oxygen forced him to spend 13 months in an intensive care unit. The medical bills had exhausted the man's savings and his wife had fled home but he still needed money to pay for his son's treatment. So he decided to rob a bank wielding a knife and a spanner. But he was arrested before he could do anything.

The sorry state of the father has prompted many good Samaritans to donate money for the child's treatment. Charity is part of Chinese culture and some charity organizations, doing exemplary work in the country, could have helped the man pay his son's medical bills.

But the lack of timely information in such cases makes it almost impossible for benefactors to help him the needy in time. As a result, people resort to radical means - robbing a bank in this case, or committing suicide - to deal with the problem or draw public attention to their plight. Given the prevailing sorry state of affairs, the social charity sector should improve its response system.

(China Daily 09/13/2013 page9)