Does the phrase "finders keepers" applicable at all times? A video has gone viral on mainland social media after a Chinese woman initially refused to return a teen's school allowance when she accidentally drops it in a street in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Southern China.
In the video, the teenage girl, along with her two friends, are still wearing their school uniform while confronting the Chinese woman who picked up her school allowance which is worth SGD 40.
“This is her money. We saw you pick it up from the road,” the friend strongly said to the woman, but she insistently refused to return what she thought she found and now owned.
“Whoever picks up the money should own it” boldly argued the Chinese woman to the teenage girl.
Feeling helpless, the teenage girl breaks down in tears and kneels in front of her to give back her money.
Luckily, some passing pedestrians help the teenage girl and suggested she contact her parents. However, she felt more distressed and shouted: “My parents don’t live with me. This money is very useful for me.”
The teenager further explained that she presently lives with her grandparents as her parents work in another city and the SGD 40 is her entire weekly allowance.
“It is so wrong for this old woman not to return the money,” said the man who was filming the video.
“We saw you pick up the money. It is out of the question that you should not return it to the girl. Even if it’s 1,000 yuan, you still should give it back, not to mention 200 yuan,” the man added.
When more pedestrians helped, the woman was pressured to hand the money back to the girl.
The video was viewed 30 million times on mainland social media and has caused outrage in China and many parts of Asia.
Netizens were expressing sympathy for the teenage girl and anger at the woman’s perceived callousness.
Kudos to the parents of this teenage girl and her friends for raising children who stand for what's right!