A taxi driver’s decade of care for an elderly man has brought him an unexpected fortune — 13 plots of land with a combined worth of about NT$50 million (US$1.66 million).
The properties were given to the driver, surnamed Ting (丁), by the elderly man, surnamed Chen (陳), as a gesture of gratitude for the former’s efforts to look after him even though they were not related.
The pair met about 10 years ago when Chen hailed Ting’s cab. During the ride, Ting said Chen complained about how his five children had turned away from him.
“I felt so bad for him that for the next 10 years, I visited him at his home almost every day. I took care of his lunch and dinner and bathed him,” Ting said on Saturday.
Ting said Chen was so devastated by his children’s indifference toward him that he insisted on adopting him as his son.
Chen transferred the ownership of nine of the 13 plots of land to Ting as a gift in 2009 before adopting him in 2010, Ting said.
Most of the nine pieces of land — approximately 205 ping (676.5m2) — are farmland located in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Shulin District (樹林).
Ting said Chen planned to wait until he sorted out ownership of buildings on the four remaining plots — 245 ping in the city’s Sansia District (三峽) — before transferring them to his name, but Chen passed away in 2012 before the matter was addressed.
After Chen’s passing, his eldest daughter filed a lawsuit asking the court to nullify the pending transfer of the four plots of land, saying that her father must have been drunk when he signed the land to Ting.
However, the judge found that the notary had asked Chen why he decided to give away the land to Ting rather than his own children.
“My children have never taken care of me, but Ting has always been there for me,” Chen was quoted as saying to the notary.
Based on the finding, the New Taipei City District Court concluded that Chen gave away the properties of his own volition and ordered Chen’s daughter to transfer ownership to Ting.
Chen’s daughter said on Saturday that she would appeal the case to safeguard her family’s assets.
“We did not abandon our father. He lived with my youngest brother [in Sansia] and we all took turns looking after him. I even commuted every day from Tucheng District [土城] to bathe my father,” Chen’s daughter said.
Ting said Chen’s youngest son was ill and was unable to take care of his father alone, which was why he went to his house to help attend to Chen.
“I never forced my foster father to drink alcohol or do anything against his will,” Ting said.
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