Francois Ung and Shally Ung, owners of Arcadia Donuts, went to great lengths in recent weeks to hold a fundraiser in the name of their dear friend “Andy” Kao, who was among the 11 people killed during the Monterey Park attack just over a year ago.
They’d reached out to local media. Francois spoke at a vigil on Jan. 21st in memory of his friend. They’d put a big banner up to promote the fundraiser – designed to raise funds for survivors and victims of the shooting.
It was working.
With each donut, over a couple of weekends prior to the solemn anniversary, they had raised about $2,000 for a victims and survivors fund.
And then, in the early morning darkness on Jan. 23, his car was broken into and the money stolen, Ung said. The Ungs had gone from paying tribute to Kao the Sunday before to filing a police report, talking to police, talking to local media, and explaining the situation to tearful customers, stunned over the burglary.
A week later, Ung is still trying to bring back some measure of funding to recoup what was taken. He’s set up a GoFundMe page, which has raised $615 on the way to a $2,500 goal. Kind customers have offered a little extra on that morning donut run. And a resilient Ung moves on in memory of a lost friend.
“This was for our friend,” Francois said Tuesday, still upset over the theft, let alone still fresh after paying tribute to Kao at the Jan. 21 vigil in Monterey Park. “For him, we wanted to do something good for the community.”
Arcadia Police Department detectives could not be reached for comment on the case. But the Ungs had filed a police report, and police were assessing surveillance camera images from the business showing what appeared to be a man shattering the front driver’s side window, opening the car’s trunk and then fleeing.
Ung said that morning he’d simply forgotten to take his laptop and the funds from the trunk, noting that he believes the thief had been watching him in the darkness,…
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