Nguyen Thanh Cuong, also known as Cuong Ba Cu, who was a notorious member of an underworld gang in Ho Chi Minh City in the 1980s, has turned over a new leaf and offered free meals to poor patients in the city for eight years.

“Please queue up orderly. Everyone will have food,” Cuong, 52, a sturdy man with a tawny complexion told patients who were queuing up to receive free servings at the gate of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital in Binh Thanh District through a megaphone.

Cuong told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he made mistakes in the past. He was a jailbird for half of his young days.

Looking back on his journey in the past, he feels regret and wants to do good deeds to have peace of mind.

During the meeting with Tuoi Tre, he just talked about stories in the present, meals for poor patients, love, and compassion.

He wanted to forget or rarely mentioned his past.

“I choose the [Ho Chi Minh City] Oncology Hospital as my best friend died there. In 2018, I also fought cancer," Cuong said.

“Witnessing what patients have to suffer from, I want to maintain my charity work.

“Doing charity is not simple, especially in such a complicated area. It is a microcosm of the society in front of the hospital as there are not only raw-boned patients who are fighting for life but also gangsters.

“I must try to avoid conflicts with them."

Cuong uses the revenue from his coffee shop and restaurant to do charity.

In addition, his friends across Vietnam regularly make contributions so that he can maintain the meaningful activity.

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