Taiwanese film director critically hurt by homeless man in China
Central News Agency
2016-01-26 09:46 PM
The cynical saying "no good deed goes unpunished" came to life recently for Taiwanese director Paul Lin, who is now fighting for his life in China after being stabbed there by a homeless man he was trying to help.
As a result of his injuries, Lin is now in a coma in a hospital intensive care unit in Zhuhai City, Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) confirmed Tuesday, following a report the previous day in the Apple Daily.
Lin, 41, was leaving a beer bar in the early hours of Jan. 16 when he saw a homeless man sleeping in the cold in a short-sleeved t-shirt near a bus station. Lin removed his own jacket to cover the man, who apparently was startled from his sleep and stabbed the Taiwanese director multiple times in the head, face and other parts of the body, SEF Vice Chairman Chou Jih-shine confirmed.
Chou said Lin made his own way to a hospital, where he was admitted and treated but he was discharged four days later after doctors there deemed that he was well enough to be released.
However, Lin was admitted to a different hospital on Jan. 21 and placed in an intensive care unit the next day, after it was found that he had an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in his brain, the SEF said.
The foundation said Lin is now in a coma and his medical bills are mounting, as it is costing 16,000 Chinese yuan (US$2,433) per day for him to remain in the Zhuhai hospital.
His family wants to bring him back to Taiwan for treatment but the doctors in China have advised against moving him at this time, said the SEF, which was asked by Lin's family to assist.
The China-based Zhuhai Association of Taiwan Businesses is raising funds to help cover Lin's medical bills in China, according to the SEF.
The foundation said it has asked its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), to report the case to the police so that the suspect can be brought to justice.
Lin was working in Zhuhai in Guangdong Province as an executive of a film and television company.
He has directed many commercials and music videos and has also worked as a television producer, photojournalist and college instructor.
