No cutting out on credibility for hairdresser (3)

"We tried to persuade him to keep the money, but he wouldn't listen," said Shen Aiguo, who runs a seafood store next door. "He's only 40, but looks much older and is often short of breath."

Failing to persuade him, Shen took back the money but later deposited more cash into Ma's bank account.

After Ma closed his store on Monday, he went to hopstial for chemotherapy. "I fear I will never be able to repay those people's kindness," he said Wednesday.

"Ma is a role model for all private business owners," said Tong Tianwu, secretary-general of Jiangsu provincial consumers' association, a government organization that handles complaints from consumers.

Complaints about overnight disappearances of bankrupt businesses are common in the sectors of laundry, car washing and hairdressing where customers often make pre-payments to get special discounts, said Tong.

"Under such circumstances, Ma is more like a hero," he said. "He has safeguarded his own credibility while helping the public restore some confidence in our society."