Rice appeal for victims of scam

A local college teacher has launched an appeal on her microblog to aid an elderly couple after an unscrupulous rice-buyer conned them, leaving them stranded in Beijing with 170 tons of rice.　

Ren Zhongji, a 60-year-old rice farmer and his wife, from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, have been stuck in the capital for four months with a consignment of rice, said Zhu Jie, a teacher from Beijing Forestry University. It is not known why Zhu wanted to help the couple, but she had bought rice from them previously.

Zhu posted on her Sina microblog that the elderly couple fell victim to a scam, and asked for people to help them out. Her post had been forwarded over 13,000 times by Wednesday.

"I don't really know how Weibo works, but we're grateful for a number of people making orders; we really had no hope for months," said Ren on Wednesday.

Ren said the buyer ordered 400 tons of rice for the government department he worked for and offered to pay 16 yuan ($2.5) per kilogram. However, after they rushed to deliver the first batch to Beijing four months ago, the man had disappeared.

"We spent over 70,000 yuan just for delivery expenses but ended up being stuck in a strange city. We've tried everything over the last months, even offering to sell the rice for 10 yuan per kilo, cheaper than the cost price," said Ren.

Fortunately, the appeal has started to take effect, as Ren and his wife were busy loading trucks with rice that was ordered by Web users and group-buying websites.

According to Zhu's microblog, there are still 14,000 boxes of rice left in the 10-square-meter warehouse Zhu rented in Fangshan district.

Ren said they had signed contracts with local group-buying websites to help him sell the remainder online.

"We just hope we could narrow down the loss, and go back to our hometown as soon as possible," said Ren.

Appealing for aid via microblogs is now a common way to bring attention to charitable causes.　

On June 8, three college students posted a request to ask people to buy apricots grown by a friend's father, who lives in a mountainous area of Hebei Province, and 1,000 kilos were sold in two hours.

In May, a fundraising microblog for 23-year-old leukemia sufferer, Lu Ruoqing, raised over 550,000 yuan in one day.

"Microblogs can be a more reliable source because of the real-name registration system," said Shi Changkui, a charity expert with Beijing Academy of Social Science.

"And due to the uncertainty in the charity field, for example, like when the Red Cross Society of China encountered scandals, people probably now have faith in smaller organizations or individuals that have more accountability," said Shi.