A British man who was forced to beg for financial help to get home to the UK after being left fighting for his life in the Philippines jungle has denied he is a scammer after being targeted by online trolls.
Conan White, 60, has been stranded in the Mindanao wilderness for over a year as he recovers from first being stabbed in his foot by his girlfriend and then injuring the foot in a serious fall.
Believing he was on the brink of certain death, Conan last week desperately reached out to MailOnline to tell his tragic tale and bring public awareness to his harrowing situation.
But as well as a flurry of support, his story was met with cruel comments and skepticism as Conan revealed how he has been repeatedly labelled a ‘scammer’ following his desperate cries for donations.
He has even been pushed to delete his social media posts and hide his location due to fears of his safety.
‘I’ve taken down all my Facebook posts from the last two years because so many people were commenting horrible, awful things,’ a devastated Conan told MailOnline.
Several people have also contacted the Brit via social media raising concerns for his well-being.
‘They think I’m in serious danger of being beaten up or worse, they’ve even warned me to not to disclose my location,’ he said.
‘All I want to do is get better, this is just madness’.
Conan White, 60, was forced to beg for financial aid after he was left stranded in the Philippines with a severely infected foot
Conan contracted Mpox from a rat bite while living in the slums, after fleeing his ex girlfriend who stabbed him twice in the foot
The Brit is living in a shed-like home in the middle of the jungle and had no way of getting home before he began receiving donations through his fundraising page
The Berkshire man explained that due to the constant trolling, he hasn’t managed to sleep in three days – despite his successful fundraiser providing him with the funds to stay in a safer and cleaner home while he recovers for his journey back to the UK.
Conan’s fundraising campaign has almost hit its £3,000 goal after hitting £2,854, meaning he has been able to consume hot meals, hire a local woman to help dress his foot wound and purchase antibiotics.
But this rally of support has been overshadowed by the hate.
‘They ridicule me, they call me a scammer, an awful person, I’ve done nothing but tell my story and now I’m just trying to heal.
‘But now even though I’m getting better physically, this is very upsetting mentally and I know I shouldn’t let it get to me but it is,’ Conan said.
Following the public telling of his story and subsequent fundraising efforts, the former HR officer said his Filipino ex-girlfriend who stabbed him twice in May 2022 had sent him a slew of abuse on social media.
‘She just completely lost it, messaging me so much abuse, I don’t know if she is after the money or is just trying to taunt me for escaping’.
Publicly speaking out on his new-found challenges, Conan updated his campaign story on his GoGetFunding page, claiming his YouTube and Facebook account had been hacked by trolls who deleted all of his amateur videos and left ‘highly offensive’ content in its place.
‘They also left a seemingly very anti-Conan podcast on my FB feed with some misleading content, I have contacted the Podcast presenters, and they have agreed to a live interview that will be broadcasted 9am Saturday the 15th of March. I will post the link to the show as soon as I get it,’ he wrote.
Now, even while battling his dire circumstances in the Philippines, he is also having to deal with the pressures of online aggressors.
Conan had a gaping hole in his foot after visiting a local doctor who left it ‘mangled’ and ‘butchered’
The sickly man also contracted Covid19 after running away from his violent ex and says his immune system was at its lowest
Conan has been left stranded in the Philippines after moving there from the UK in 2018
Conan was kept in a crowded hospital with little to no hygiene measures along with several other sick locals
But he is determined to stand his ground.
On Friday, Conan posted an update to his crowdsourcing page, writing: ‘I have now enabled comments on this site, as I feel it is important that people who come to this campaign have a voice.
‘And though I can take criticism, please let it be the constructive type.’
The threats and online hate piled in for Conan after he told his harrowing story which saw him moving to the Philippines in 2018 for love before enduring a series of horrendous hardships.
Speaking to MailOnline from the Philippines jungle last week, the Brit explained how he was abandoned in the slums after being viciously stabbed by his girlfriend.
Conan’s life spiralled into misery after he contracted Mpox and a fall down a highway left him with an injured foot.
A botched medical procedure by a ‘charlatan’ doctor left his foot shattered, and his new girlfriend’s mother offered to take him in – but at a hefty price.
Scared of being alone in the wilderness, Conan gave the mother the money he had so she could fund caring for him.
But instead, she took the sick man off his vital diabetic medicines and antibiotics and opted for herbal treatments in an attempt to cure his mangled foot.
Holding candlelit vigils and inviting local priests to bless his limb, a failed exorcism by a witch doctor – which saw him massaged and spat on – only worsened his condition.
Now, forced to live in a crumbling jungle hut deep in Mindanao, Conan claims he is confined like a prisoner by locals who control the only key to the gate, with no visa and no means of escape.
Living on a meagre one meal a day and battling relentless infections, he fears death is only days away, leaving him with no choice but to appeal to the British Embassy and launch a crowdsourcing campaign, hoping to scrape together enough funds to survive and eventually return home to Newbury, Berkshire.
A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed consular assistance is being provided, but for now, the suffering Brit remains isolated in a perilous, snake-infested wilderness – awaiting a miracle before it’s too late.
