At about 11am every day, an old man carrying several large plastic bags filled with hundreds of soft toys can be seen making his way towards a bank in Damansara Uptown.
David Christopher is the 65-year-old Pokemon soft toy uncle whose story went viral on social media over a week ago.
The elderly man had been left with 250 Pokemon soft toys whom he said a customer had ordered but failed to collect.
When a Netizen learned of his plight and shared it on a Facebook post that went viral, they rallied together and went to his usual spot in front of the bank the next day. David cleared his stock within an hour.
Even after his predicament was resolved, customers still waited for him in front of the bank to buy his soft toys sold for RM10 each.
A 15-YEAR ROUTINE
David said he would get onto the LRT near his house in Pandan Perdana at 7.30am every day and travel to Jalan Petaling, where he retrieved his stock of soft toys. He would then board another train to Damansara Utama.
"Every day I would take around 300 soft toys from several toy shops in Jalan Petaling and carry them to the LRT.
Sometimes, if the orders are large enough, I would hire a taxi from Jalan Petaling to Damansara Utama, he said to Bernama.
David said he had kept the price of his products at between RM10 and RM12 despite the rising cost of living.
The market price of these soft toys can be as high as RM30 each. Im selling mine for RM10 each as a token of appreciation towards my customers who have been supporting me for the past 15 years, he said.
The single father said his routine started 15 years ago when he resigned from his job as a nightclub manager due to his advancing age and to take care of his then five-year-old son after his wife walked out on him.
"I was mulling our future at the time as he was so young. I decided that for a start, I would peddle soft toys for a living, he said, not realising it would be his source of income for the next 15 years.
"I'm just grateful that my son is very aware of our difficult life. He studied hard since primary school so that he could be the one to change our lives. All his hard work paid off as he eventually received a scholarship to continue his studies in electrical and electronic engineering, he said.
NOT BEGGING
He had been peddling soft toys from location to location when a customer, who also happened to be the employee of a bank in Damansara Utama, offered to allocate him a spot in front of the banks premises.
Seeing as I was quite old, she offered to obtain permission from her superiors to allow me to conduct my business in front of the bank.
Sometimes I am not that well but I still have to go out and make a living because I dont want to have to depend on others, he said.
There are times when passersby would mistake him for a beggar and give him money.
"I would usually refuse and offer the toys in exchange. I don't want to accept help without giving anything back in return," he said.
SILVER LINING
David is a firm believer of there being a silver lining behind every cloud.
He said although he was disappointed by the actions of the irresponsible customer who failed to claim the 250 soft toys he had ordered, a positive thing came out of it in the end.
After one of my customers posted about my predicament on social media, all 250 of the Pokemon soft toys were sold out within an hour the very next day.
In fact, I even received additional orders after that, he shared.
David's life story even caught the attention of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that ran a story on him just last week. - BERNAMA
Bernama
Mon Sep 26 2016
David Christopher is the 65-year-old Pokemon soft toy uncle whose story went viral on social media over a week ago. - File Photo
Piala Thomas: Taiwan lakar kejutan singkir Denmark untuk mara ke separuh akhir
Kejayaan sensasi itu menyaksikan Taiwan berdepan Indonesia dan Malaysia menentang China di pentas separuh akhir pada jam 5 petang hari ini.
Gaji penjawat awam boleh dinaikkan dengan kawalan pengurusan kewangan - PM
Ketegasan dalam menguruskan kewangan juga mampu untuk memberikan lebih banyak manfaat serta barakah selepas ini kepada kumpulan terbabit.
Trio pecut wanita dalam senarai menunggu ke Paris 2024
Trio pecut wanita negara berpeluang beraksi di Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024 apabila berada pada kedudukan pertama senarai menunggu untuk mengambil bahagian di temasya itu.
JAIM bakal perkenal Pusat Tahfiz TVET, tawar kursus selam dasar laut
JAIM bakal menjadikan Maahad Tahfiz Pulau Besar sebagai Pusat Tahfiz Program Pendidikan dan TVET yang turut menawarkan kursus selam dasar laut.
Jalan baharu sebagai laluan alternatif hubungkan Sibu-Kapit akan dibina
Satu jajaran jalan baharu akan dibina sebagai laluan alternatif yang akan menghubungkan Sibu dengan Kapit melibatkan jarak kira-kira 66 kilometer (km).
Malaysia, Jepun bincang kerjasama perdagangan, pertanian
Malaysia dan Jepun mengadakan perbincangan dua hala yang antara lain menyentuh mengenai perdagangan, pertanian dan peranan Malaysia sebagai hab halal yang boleh dimanfaatkan negara itu.
MSPO mampu penuhi permintaan EUDR, kata pakar
Panel pakar pensijilan yang dipanggil oleh MPOC telah menilai keupayaan pensijilan MSPO sebagai instrumen untuk memastikan pematuhan kepada EUDR.
SUKMA XXI bakal bawa limpahan ekonomi kepada Sarawak - Abdul Karim
Pemain industri perhotelan, inap desa dan pengusaha makanan serta pengangkutan di Sarawak bakal menerima limpahan ekonomi daripada penganjuran temasya SUKMA XXI Sarawak 2024.
Minggu Latihan Kebangsaan pupuk budaya pembelajaran sepanjang hayat - HRD Corp
HRD Corp bakal menganjurkan NTW pada Jun ini, bertujuan menerapkan budaya pembelajaran sepanjang hayat dalam kalangan rakyat melalui peluang meningkatkan kemahiran dan pembelajaran secara percuma.
Kru kapal dikaitkan dengan Israel dibebaskan
Iran berkata pembebasan anak kapal adalah tindakan kemanusiaan dan mereka boleh pulang ke negara mereka bersama kapten kapal.
Gedung 'The Starling' dijangka dibuka akhir November
Gedung membeli belah itu yang juga dikenali sebagai 'Gedung dalam Taman', sudah 90 peratus siap.