Charities should publicize they are there to help

A 63-YEAR-OLD MOTHER in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, recently committed suicide in the hope her insurance compensation would pay for the medical treatment of her son, which failed as her life insurance had already expired and did not cover suicide in the first place. A local charitable organization has promised to offer free medical treatment to her son. Beijing Times commented on Monday:

It would be pointless to accuse the desperate mother of being ignorant or trying to swindle her insurer, because she clearly felt she had no other options to pay for her son's treatment. Her death, although it failed to convince the insurance company to compensate her family, did achieve its purpose as a charity has promised to pay for her son's medical treatment.

However, she would not have chosen to end her life if she had been informed that suicide was not covered by her insurance, and charities could help her.