Post by musicradio77 on Oct 14, 2005 19:21:33 GMT -5
Can't bear to tell ma that dad is dead
By ELLEN TUMPOSKY
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
LONDON - Tears streaming down her face, the daughter of a slain Chinese food deliveryman revealed yesterday that she has not told her mother in China that the beloved family patriarch was gunned down in the Bronx.
"This news may break my mother's heart," Ting Chen, a 24-year-old college student, told the Daily News. "They love each other deeply."
A decade has passed since Fa Hua Chen, 52, left his family in China and came to the United States, where he worked as a deliveryman, hoping to earn enough money to send his daughter to college.
In a sad twist, the $15,000 he scraped together to cover her tuition at the University of Leicester in Britain may now be used to pay for his funeral and burial, his daughter said.
"I am the only child," Ting Chen told The News. "My dad really hoped I could get a master's degree. That's why my father worked in New York.
"Now I'm afraid I cannot finish," she said. "Nobody can support me."
Ting Chen is only a few weeks into her master's degree courses in business management at Leicester. Her mother, Wei, 50, still lives in the family's two-bedroom apartment in the Fujian province of China.
Ting Chen has been trying desperately to obtain a travel visa from the U.S. Embassy in London to fly to New York.
Her father was shot in the face during a botched robbery Monday night after dropping off an order at an apartment building on E. 149th St. He died Tuesday at Lincoln Hospital, and no arrests have been made.
"I want to see him one last time," his daughter said.
Councilman John Liu (D-Queens), along with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer (both D-N.Y.), have been working to help her secure a visa.
She has an appointment at the embassy today and hopes to head to the U.S. tonight.
"We're pulling out all the stops to make sure this woman can pay respects to her deceased father," said Martin Brennan, a spokesman for Schumer.
"We will do what we can to help," said Clinton spokeswoman Nina Blackwell.
Ting Chen, who earned her undergraduate degree at Hainan University in China, arrived in Britain in July. She has not seen her father in 10 years but spoke to him often on the phone. He also called his wife once a week.
The day before the shooting, Ting Chen and her father talked about her plan to visit him at Christmas.
"He was very happy. In just one day, everything changed," she sobbed. "I cannot accept the truth."
"He was proud of me. He loves me very much."
A $12,000 reward is being offered by the NYPD and Crime Stoppers for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of two suspects wanted in the killing, and the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus has offered a $1,000 reward. Anyone with information is asked to call (800) 577-TIPS.
By ELLEN TUMPOSKY
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
LONDON - Tears streaming down her face, the daughter of a slain Chinese food deliveryman revealed yesterday that she has not told her mother in China that the beloved family patriarch was gunned down in the Bronx.
"This news may break my mother's heart," Ting Chen, a 24-year-old college student, told the Daily News. "They love each other deeply."
A decade has passed since Fa Hua Chen, 52, left his family in China and came to the United States, where he worked as a deliveryman, hoping to earn enough money to send his daughter to college.
In a sad twist, the $15,000 he scraped together to cover her tuition at the University of Leicester in Britain may now be used to pay for his funeral and burial, his daughter said.
"I am the only child," Ting Chen told The News. "My dad really hoped I could get a master's degree. That's why my father worked in New York.
"Now I'm afraid I cannot finish," she said. "Nobody can support me."
Ting Chen is only a few weeks into her master's degree courses in business management at Leicester. Her mother, Wei, 50, still lives in the family's two-bedroom apartment in the Fujian province of China.
Ting Chen has been trying desperately to obtain a travel visa from the U.S. Embassy in London to fly to New York.
Her father was shot in the face during a botched robbery Monday night after dropping off an order at an apartment building on E. 149th St. He died Tuesday at Lincoln Hospital, and no arrests have been made.
"I want to see him one last time," his daughter said.
Councilman John Liu (D-Queens), along with Sens. Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer (both D-N.Y.), have been working to help her secure a visa.
She has an appointment at the embassy today and hopes to head to the U.S. tonight.
"We're pulling out all the stops to make sure this woman can pay respects to her deceased father," said Martin Brennan, a spokesman for Schumer.
"We will do what we can to help," said Clinton spokeswoman Nina Blackwell.
Ting Chen, who earned her undergraduate degree at Hainan University in China, arrived in Britain in July. She has not seen her father in 10 years but spoke to him often on the phone. He also called his wife once a week.
The day before the shooting, Ting Chen and her father talked about her plan to visit him at Christmas.
"He was very happy. In just one day, everything changed," she sobbed. "I cannot accept the truth."
"He was proud of me. He loves me very much."
A $12,000 reward is being offered by the NYPD and Crime Stoppers for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of two suspects wanted in the killing, and the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus has offered a $1,000 reward. Anyone with information is asked to call (800) 577-TIPS.