Coco Lee once bought 100kg of oranges from an old man who was selling them on a street in China during winter

On July 5, the older sister of Mandopop diva Coco Lee announced the singer's passing at the age of 48. 

The singer was well loved by many, and touching tribute messages from her famous pals and fans have flooded social media since the news of her death broke. 

As it turns out, Coco had done a lot more than just touch the world with her songs and performances. 

An elderly man, who received help from the singer years ago, was interviewed by the Chinese media yesterday (July 6).

He expressed his gratitude towards Coco, and teared up while he spoke fondly of the things she had done for him. 

In 2016, Coco was in Changsha for the filming of Chinese singing competition I Am A Singer.

It was then she caught wind of an elderly man who braved the cold winter nights to sell oranges by the streets. 

Coco asked her mother and sister to buy his entire stock of oranges, which weighed up to around 100kg, on her behalf. She then gave him another 2000 yuan (S$370), and later bought him and his family four boxes of daily necessities and two sets of cotton-padded coats.

Here's Coco giving out the oranges she bought from the elderly man to everyone on set

After buying the oranges, she personally divided them into smaller portions and handed them out to the cast and crew on the set of I Am A Singer.

She even helped to spread the word about the old man and his orange business.

Subsequently, the oranges in the elderly man’s village sold like hot cakes, with many volunteers pitching in to help them package and deliver 100,000 kilos worth of oranges. 

It greatly helped the old man and his fellow villagers, who had no other source of income. 

The elderly man, who is known as Zhang Wang Han, is 83 this year. 

He still remembers vividly the joy she brought him and the villagers, adding that it was a pity he did not have a way of contacting her as he couldn’t remember her phone number.

“[I’m] thankful to her,” he told the media with tears in his eyes. 

Photos: ET Today