$5000 lesson - turning point in life
All year long many things happened,but I will never forget how this one unfolds.
the one that many may find it familiar,
'I loan $5k to someone I barely knew!'
It is quite a sensitive topic to discuss openly;
So in order to keep it as neutral / objective as possible,
I decided to leave out some of the details.............
So after excluding juicy bits, the story roughly goes like this:
*Orange: flow of story*
*Dark Green: my 2cents worth*
'Dear Readers,
my name is Kang Xue Ming & this is a true story.
I have dragged this matter for a year before posting
as I chose to believe in giving people second chances
& I also dont want my family to worry about me.
However, for the benefit of all readers,
I have chosen to step up & share with everyone
coz I don't want another person to experience
the same situation or ever suffer in silence, like me.
On 26 July 2011,
Mr. X, my superior, wanted to borrow SGD $5k
& promised to return me in 2 days' time.
No matter how reluctant I was to lend him,
I was also being pressured by the fact
that Mr. X holds a key that could make my life difficult.
If it was just a matter of me getting fired, it wouldnt be that bad.
It concerns whether I can proceed with my further studies
& the scale of penalty that I could possibly incur along the way.
Mr. X went on & used his authority by saying,
'Dont worry, I'm your superior & you'll be able to find me'
Therefore, I lent Mr. X the sum of money
as though I was following an order that my superior gave.
yes, you might think I'm a passive naive guy & I admit.
However, it doesnt change the fact Mr. X 'turned' to me.
Repayment in 2 days turned into 2 months;
all sorts of excuses & nothing was yet returned.
New agreement: $2k in Nov & $3k in Dec after selling his flat
I agreed as that was the only thing I could do at that time.
seriously, every week I tried to meet him
& it seems he is busier than when I was in the company.
Most of the time I didnt even see him around
& have no idea what he does for a living?
Oh right, just being my superior!!
Nov, Mr. X couldn't raise $2k & paid $900 instead.
Days before Dec deadline, Mr. X asked for another $1k
& will pay me back in full by Dec deadline.
I rejected him regardless if I had the money.
By the deadline, Mr. X failed to pay me back yet again.
Mr. X confessed that he owes alot of people money,
wont be able to pay me back & pleaded for a last chance
where he starts paying me by installment starting Jan 2012.
he used to own Peugeot & branded watches;
he chose to pay off my junior of the company,
an exact amount of $5k, but not me.
so did he use my money to return him?
or did he choose just not to pay me back?
Jan 2012 deadline came, Mr. X was uncontactable.
Few weeks later, Mr. X called saying that he was possessed
for the whole of 2011 & thus accumulated huge debts.
Apparently, Mr. X needed to clear his credit debts (with interest)
before he can return me my money, but no exact date.
Since Mr. X didn't get back to me anymore, I couldn't wait any longer.
There's a saying in our company,
'dont make ur problem become my problem!'
However, he did say the money partly goes to his newborn daughter.
so I tolerated all those nonsense that he can come up with.
& went to LianHeWanBao to seek any form of help.
Mr. X paid me $500 immediately after being interviewed by the reporter
& said he will continue installments of $500 by May.
It gave me a glimpse of hope that everything will be back on track
so long as Mr. X pays me back.....
He has the cheek to ask me why did I approach media.
so here's why, I have nothing to lose anymore.
I treated that I already lost that $5k
& might as well let everyone know the truth.
All these went on while I was busy studying
& seriously who can concentrate with such a burden?
May & June 2012,
Mr. X disappoints me by dragging & not paying up, again.
By then, I was having holiday, but needed to work part time
to keep myself afloat before next sem uni fees dropped on me.
*Why do I have to suffer while he gets to drive a car?*
July, I was shocked to hear that Mr. X was even promoted
For this reason, I continued to pester Mr. X to get back
what is rightfully mine & he only returned me $500
out of the supposedly $1.5k that had accumulated.
How did someone like Mr. X get promoted after such an incident?
Why is Mr. X still in company?? Why is Mr. X not in jail?
What if another person falls prey to his lies??
I started to question what exactly did the Company do
as they didn't get back to me regarding Mr. X's punishments
or follow up on whether Mr. X paid me back or not.
PS: I am not from a rich family.
The moment I entered the company, I set out to climb the ranks
as I knew it was the only way to save up for my University tuition fees.
However, it was definitely a lesson learnt for me,
to be scammed at the end of the 2 years by none other than Mr. X.
I have run out of ideas of how to deal with this situation
& will thank anybody who can give me legal advice regarding this case.'
Apparently, this type of loan is considered personal loan.
It is not under business & nothing is legal / illegal about it.
so if ever there is people willing to sign IOU for money,
dont bother coz it is only based on trust....
but if things turn ugly, Trust turns to Trash.
which brings down to something I learnt from forums,
'Golden rule of lending $ : must be prepared and willing not to take it back'
The fact doesnt change that he owes alot people money;
1) Police cant do anything coz it is personal loan
2) We cant sue Mr. X for being a conman
coz he tells everybody a different story
3) Bring him to court / Debt Collector is useless
$5k or less = not worth the time & effort
more than $5k = he still cant pay up
4) Nothing *major* was done, Investigation ongoing
- I've asked & still waiting for them to get back to me
Since when? 14 July 2012 & we're stepping into 2013
It just changed my mindset along the way,
When he wasnt paying anybody or at least me,
I will prefer him to be jailed & it would mean justice.
I would make everyone lose that chance of him ever repaying,
but I believe that we got to wake up from these daydreams.
If he is gona pay up, he would already try at some point.
Now that he is paying up, better pay everyone in full~
#Fun fact
BTW, he never remember my account number.
So I have to sms him every month the same message,
'Mr. X, remember to transfer when you get your pay, ***-*****-*'
From this one off incident,
I'm very thankful for the support from my family,
friends from almost everywhere connected back to me,
brothers in arms regardless if I know them in person,
people who share the same plight of being scammed
& helpful individuals that pointed me in the right direction
as to where I can get free legal aid & what should be left out.
*Sorry that I missed out on replying some people
& unable to add people as friends due to personal reasons.
Long before I posted it up, it was already an emotional struggle
I didn't tell my family as I know nothing good will come out of it,
but at the same time we should always include our families in decisions.
I was planning to tell them once Mr. X starts to pay up monthly.
It just didnt went according to plan & I told them after posting.
On a side note, It is so funny that I'm so focused with laws,
but yet I ended up failing my law module so badly
as if it is teasing me that people do get away with ill-doings.
It showed me things are not just Black & White,
but it comes with the shades of grey.
I know there are pretty much of loopholes to the story
& that is supposed to leave it up to your imagination.
Be it for the better or for the worse,
there is still nothing much done to him at the end of the day.
I'm not perusing any further coz it doesn't really matter;
The good news to share with everyone~~~
I got back everything!!
Getting back everything doesnt mean I'm rich at all.
It doesnt mean I will lend anyone money either.
However, it has changed my views on money.
'better to enjoy now than never~'
I will spend it sparingly to enjoy coz I treat it as lottery
even though it is my own money in the first place.
Thus, in this holiday season, I focused on the spirit of giving
by actively participating in Christmas parties' gift exchange!
Attended more gatherings organised by my poly-mates
& enjoyed lots of good food along the way~
Nonetheless, I get to buy alot of things for myself!!
The funding of my online shopping spree & electronics~
This $5000 lesson - turning point in life is priceless;
I'm able to officially close this chapter by 2012
and look forward to this upcoming year;
My wish to link up with my close friends!
- South View Primary School
- Chua Chu Kang Secondary School
- Singapore Polytechnic (School of Design)
- National Service
- RMIT University (SIM)?
off to countdown & welcome 2013!!!
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