A mother who received many donations for her sick daughter after stealing a fried chicken drumstick and a storybook will donate excess money to people in need in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

The 36-year-old mother, surnamed Liu, was caught at a local supermarket. She stole the chicken drumstick and the storybook as a gift for her eldest daughter, who is severely ill and was receiving treatment at a hospital on Children's Day.

Both of her twin daughters were diagnosed with a kidney disorder in 2011, when they were 18 months old. Her husband divorced her due to heavy medical expenses.

About 3,000 yuan ($455) is needed every month to treat the disease, while Liu earns only about 1,000 yuan working at a garbage sorting station.

She only had 5 yuan in her pocket when she went into the supermarket, where a chicken drumstick cost 7 yuan.

Liu and her daughter received more than 400,000 yuan in donations after police posted the case on the internet. Residents also went directly to the hospital to give money and food.

"I set a bad example for my girls," said Liu. "There are people who gave me money and people who call me a thief. I don't mind the criticism as long as my girls are getting treatment."

"Media helped me to get enough donations, but they also revealed my private information. There is certain information that I want to keep to myself."

The sick daughter received more than 10 days of treatment at the hospital and, accompanied by her mother, was already back in her hometown in Xuyi county, Jiangsu province, on Thursday.

The donations, managed by a public welfare foundation, will be used to help other sick children after the two girls finish their treatments.

Xia Zhengkun, director of the pediatric department of Nanjing General Hospital, where the twins received treatment, said the possibility of the kidney disorder developing into uremia cannot be ruled out.

"About 30,000 to 50,000 yuan are needed every year to treat one girl," said Xia. "We cannot just rely on donations to help poor families that need to support sick family members."

Zhang Yue, a doctor at the hospital, said there are many families that have heavier economic burdens than Liu.

"Some parents have to abandon their children at the hospital for lack of money," Zhang said. "Many poor people feel hurt when they see strangers donating money to Liu and they are left helpless."

The father of a sick boy named Wang Xinyu, who is in the same ward with the girl, asked if he needed to steal from others to get public attention and help.

"We hope that the government can establish a foundation to support patients with serious kidney disease," Xia said.

"They can get money from the foundation after doctors evaluate their disease."

cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/20/2016 page5)