Recently on the Thai Internet, an illness-stricken taxi uncle took the spotlight with his tearful story.
Her fate was featured in a viral post by a woman, Nongying Chuaibamrung on August 26.
The story is so heartbreaking that the post has already been shared 78,000 times at the time of writing.
The story begins with Nongying taking a taxi.
She was on the phone when she entered the vehicle but she noticed that the driver was driving a little slow and it annoyed her.
As he put down his cell phone, the driver asked him to check if the oxygen cylinder behind his seat had bubbles in the tube.
Worried, he checked it out and asked what his uncle’s problem was. He says,
“I have many diseases. My eyes are not good and my kidneys are not functioning properly either. I had to have dialysis (CAPD) even while I was driving. Because the lungs flooded, I needed to carry the oxygen tank. “
When questioned further, Nongying admitted that she currently lives alone in a rented room.
The government only gives her 800 baht (RM106.40) welfare each month and she still needs to pay rent and survive.
To solve that, he hired a taxi so he could earn money.
After hearing this, Nongying felt so sad for her, she gave him extra money on top of her fees and decided to post the story on her social media with her consent.
Her story went viral and received local media attention.
According to TNA, the uncle said that he would not drive the taxi if he felt unwell or not ready.
After doing some digging, netizens managed to find the name of his uncle, Sumeth Singpun.
Apart from kidney failure, he also has diabetes, high blood pressure, lung floods, swollen and deformed legs, and several amputated toes.
According to Channel 3 Thai News, this taxi uncle has a son but he has a very low paying job so he can only send a small amount of money to his father each month.
Plus, Sumeth sold her cell phone, so her 18-year-old son couldn’t reach her.
He couldn’t sleep lying down because his lungs were flooded.
If he did, he would suffocate in his sleep.
So he slept sitting up, nor could he sit for long because his legs would swell.
When the news team visited Sumeth on August 28 in his rented room, he greeted them with a big smile.
He told them,
“Many kind and generous people have visited me and given me a lot of help.”
The donation account has now raised 1,189,487 baht (RM158,050) and is now closed.
Sumeth said that the money would be used to buy a small house (so as not to become homeless) and other daily necessities.
The medical expenses are covered.
Sumeth also said that he would not continue his job as a taxi driver because many people advised him not to.
She is inherently grateful to everyone who contributes and will look for a new job that better suits her needs.
