Begging the question of trust on the street

What would you do if you meet an old man or woman in rags, or a young man or woman claiming to have suffered a family misfortune begging for money in a street? Would you extend a helping hand or ignore the request for assistance and walk away?

This is probably a choice that most people have had to make, a choice made more difficult because one has to decide if the person begging is genuinely in need of help.

The other day, a teenager was seen begging on a busy commercial street in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, with his mother. According to media reports, he claimed that his home had burned down, his mother was suffering from senile dementia and his intellectually challenged father had gone missing. His seeming misfortune soon won him the sympathy and money of many passers-by.