BRITON Ken Taylor handed over 70,000 yuan (US$8,642) to his subordinate engineer Chen Dongying to pay for the medical treatment of her 2-year-old son who is currently battling against cancer.

The money was raised from a charity dinner held in five restaurants in Shekou on Sept. 22.

"We had an excellent evening, we sold 60 tickets, and the weather was very pleasant," said Mel Taylor, Ken's wife, in a letter to the Shenzhen Daily after the event.

Chen's son, Ouyang Lin is due to have surgery to remove tumors within the next few weeks in a hospital in Guangzhou. She will use the money to pay for this surgery and much of the necessary follow-up treatment.

With the support of the restaurant owners, the Taylors successfully arranged the charity dinner and collected 70,000 yuan from the sales of the dinner tickets, auctions, and a raffle.

The charity dinner was held at a number of Shekou restaurants: McCawley's, Thai Amarin, Little India, and It, with diners moving from restaurant to restaurant for different courses.

Diners were from many countries, including Britain, the United States, France and Costa Rica. Some were from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

As the event attracted the maximum capacity of 60 people, the entry alone raised 30,000 yuan before the night began.

After eating the first course at the Thai Amarin, an auction was held. The auction items, including paintings, jewelry, and a signed Lyon's Rugby Team ball, were donated by some of the restaurant owners. The auction raised a further 13,000 yuan.

During the last course of dessert at the new It restaurant, a raffle was held with prizes being donated by many local businesses in Shekou. The raffle raised a further 3,000 yuan.

Just when everyone thought the evening's fund raising efforts were over, a final plea was made to bring the total up to 50,000 yuan. This time a group of Scottish expats were called on to sing their national anthem - Flower of Scotland, and in this excitement a staggering 20,000 yuan was pledged.

With the inclusion of a number of additional donations from the Taylors' friends over the following days, the total amount raised by the event topped 70,000 yuan.

Editor: Wing