On the evening of December 4, Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh Thuy - Member of the Standing Committee of the Association for the Support of Poor Patients in Duong Dong Ward, Phu Quoc City (Kien Giang) - said that two children suspected of being abandoned in the area near Ho Quoc Pagoda have been temporarily taken care of by the pagoda.
“Currently, according to contact verification, the health of the two children is stable. Tomorrow, the Sponsoring Association will coordinate with the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Phu Quoc City to go to Ho Quoc Pagoda to verify more information and find relatives of the two children. Depending on the actual situation, we will have a direction to handle it later,” said Ms. Thuy.
Speaking with Lao Dong, Mr. Vo Tan Duc - a tour guide in Phu Quoc City - said that he and his group of guests discovered the two children.
According to Mr. Duc, at around 5:00 p.m. the same day, he took a group of tourists to visit and burn incense at Truc Lam Zen Monastery and Ho Quoc Pagoda in Duong To Commune. At this time, the tourists heard the crying of a child nearby, so they called Mr. Duc to come and see.
"At that time, we saw two children, one boy and one girl. The younger girl was sitting in the basket, and the older boy was crying very sadly. The two children did not know how long they had been sitting there, but they had many mosquito bites on their bodies. In the basket, there were only diapers, clothes, and milk bottles, but no papers or information," said Mr. Duc.
Afterwards, the tourist and Mr. Duc carried the two children to the pagoda. The monks at Truc Lam Zen Monastery, Ho Quoc Pagoda, provided initial health care and temporarily took care of the two children while waiting for the authorities to handle the situation.
