Chinese cab driver breaks down over wife’s cancer and financial struggles, accused of crying for tips

A cab driver in China has been accused of crying to gain sympathy from passengers after one customer posted her experience on social media. A Chinese driver broke down crying during a traffic stop (Representational image) On November 1, a woman identified only as Ms Sun booked a trip from the ride-hailing app Didi, also known as China’s Uber. During a traffic jam, the driver of her cab suddenly broke down crying. “My wife has lymphoma”According to a report in 163.com, Sun later told Xiaoxiang Morning Post that the driver was upset about his wife’s long illness and financial burden on the family. “This is the last time I will drive,” the driver told Sun. When asked why, he complained that the financial cost of the treatment for his wife’s lymphoma — or cancer of the lymph nodes — had almost ruined the family and forced his sons to drop out of school and join the workforce. “My family is almost ruined. I can’t drive anymore. My wife has lymphoma and we have already spent more than 200,000 yuan. Both of my sons have dropped out of school to work,” the driver said. (Also read: Chinese worker fired after walking 16,000 steps on a sick leave day, wins compensation) The driver further claimed that even the taxi he was driving was not his own — he had borrowed it from his wife’s ser. Sun said she felt bad about the driver’s plight and gave him a tip of 50 yuan, for which he thanked her profusely. However, social media users raised doubts about the driver’s story when she posted about the incident. Some suggested that he may have cooked up the story about a sick wife to gain sympathy and more money way of tips. Didi confirms driver’s taleAfter Sun’s post went viral, ride hailing app Didi contacted her saying they would verify the matter. The cab company later responded to her post saying that the driver’s wife was indeed seriously ill, but acknowledged that customers had complained about his behaviour in the past. The company added that the driver had been asked not to solicit tips in the future. Read the full text of Didi’s response below:Hello, thank you very much for your feedback. We appreciate your kindness and have also seen concerns in the comments section regarding the driver’s actual family situation. We have communicated with the driver and verified through relevant materials that he is facing financial difficulties, his wife does have a serious illness, and he is still driving to make a living. The “Didi Care and Charity Assance” project, launched Didi in conjunction with the China Red Cross Foundation and the Didi Charity Foundation, aims to provide assance and care to ride-hailing driver families facing difficulties such as serious illness, accidents, and disasters. Currently, Didi Charity has initiated the assance process, hoping to help alleviate some of his financial burden. Meanwhile, we have also verified that this driver had used various reasons to confide in passengers during past services, receiving some tips but also receiving numerous complaints from passengers. We have communicated with the driver, hoping he will cherish every act of sincerity but not excessively or inappropriately solicit passengers’ kindness. Any violations will be punished according to platform rules. Thank you again for your help, tolerance and understanding towards the drivers. Didi always values ​​the actual situation of drivers and the travel experience of passengers. We hope that every journey is accompanied warmth.