http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/crowdfunding-campaign/1457700.html
The man who started an online campaign to raise funds for the Vietnamese tourist who was allegedly forced to beg for a refund at Sim Lim Square has called for the tourist to contact him.
He told Channel NewsAsia on Thursday (Nov 6) that he faced "red tape" when attempting to get the contact details of the tourist, Mr Pham Van Thoai.
He said the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) told him that he needed to submit an official email which will then be submitted to the CASE Board before Mr Pham's details would be released.
Mr Pham had sought CASE's help when businessmen at a shop, Mobile Air, tried to force him to fork out an additional S$1,500 for a warranty for an iPhone 6 he had bought for S$950. He was only given a S$400 refund after he got down on his knees and begged.
When Mr Kang first heard of Mr Pham's plight, he was "enraged". "My blood was boiling. How could a human being do this to another human being?" he told Channel NewsAsia. "This is something I can't accept. So I thought, maybe I can do something."
His campaign on Indiegogo to help Mr Pham buy a new iPhone went live on Wednesday at 3pm. As of Thursday evening, it has accumulated US$11,694 (about S$15,100) in pledges from close to 1,600 donors.
On the money raised, Mr Kang said: "Mr Pham was planning his dream holiday - it was something stolen from him. Ideally we want to bring him and his girlfriend to Singapore and give them that dream holiday."
As for reports that Mr Pham has said he does not want the funds collected, Mr Kang said he is trying to help via non-monetary means as well. And if Mr Pham still rejects that help, Mr Kang said he will use the funds to help others who have been scammed in Sim Lim Square, and will do so transparently.
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