Rescue & Aid

Macao prisoners donate to Qinghai quake victims

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-25 14:02

MACAO - The Macao Prison has transferred a total donation of 67,352 patacas ($8,419) from some 220 inmates to the Macao Red Cross for the victims in the quake-stricken Qinghai province of China, the Macao Post Daily reported on Tuesday.

Special Coverage: Qinghai Earthquake Related readings:  Quake clean-up carries on in Qinghai  HK adds $38K to help Qinghai quake victims  Hundreds in HK say goodbye to Qinghai earthquake hero

It was the first time the prisoners volunteered to make a contribution to Macao's overall help for Qinghai's Yushu county which was hit by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in April this year, the daily quoted Karen Vong Ka Nun, head of the Macao Prison's public relations and information division, as saying.

He also said that one of the inmates insisted making his donation even though he only had about 10 patacas in his account.

According to Vong, each inmate has an account in the prison, where they can deposit the money they legally owned before entering the penitentiary, as well as the money given to them by their family and relatives and money paid by the prison management for their work when serving their sentence.

The Macao Red Cross has collected a total of 16.4 million patacas ($2.05 million) in donations from local communities for the Yushu quake victims.