ter on foot for more than an hour before finding a public phone and calling the police for assistance as store owners and residents of a Taipei City neighborhood looked on and refused his requests for help, the United Daily News reported. It took Liao, 35, more than four hours to travel 60-some kilometers from Shuanghsi Township, Taipei County to the Wanhua District using his specially designed three-wheeled electric scooter to look for a job yesterday. When the battery died, however, he found himself stranded and unable to find help.
Liao used to work as a denture maker, but was laid off when he had to have surgery to remove a gallstone last year.
Since his recovery this May, Liao has scanned the classifieds daily looking for a suitable job, and recently found an opening at a dental clinic in Wanhua for a denture maker.
When police arrived, they found he had only NT$27 on him. As Liao explained, "Using my scooter was the only way I could look for employment since I don't have enough money for public transportation."
To save money, Liao also eschewed a home phone and cell phone.
"I pushed myself along to stores and was refused when I asked them if I could recharge my scooter. It was more than an hour later that I could find a public phone and call the police for help."
Liao lives with his father on Hsinchi W. Rd., surviving on a NT$7,000 subsidy for the handicapped and low income earners; Liao's father receives a senior's pension every month.
Liao added, "I've already failed to fulfill my filial piety to my father because I can't give him any money. I will not ask him for money unless I have to."
According to the scooter company, Liao should be able to travel around 50 kilometers if the scooter's battery is fully charged, although the battery is likely to die after a journey through the mountains of Shuanghsi, Pinghsi, Shenken Township, and across Taipei City to Wanhua.
Scooter dealership owner Hu Chien-kuo advised electric scooter users to "always check the electric level before traveling long distances and recharge the batter after each use."
Regarding the incident, Lu Hui-hsuan, PR representative of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, said that the handicapped should always seek help when needed and not be afraid of rejection, adding that "our society should be more friendly and lend a hand to those in need."
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