Last week my friend Lia lost her wallet with 18 thousand pesos inside. To make her feel a bit better, I gave her a Kate Spade wallet I had barely used.
“Sorry for your loss,” I told Lia.
“It’s OK, maybe the one who found it needs the money more than I,” she said.
Lia didn’t really blame anyone but herself. She thinks she may have dropped it at the parking lot on her way to the car.
Last year I met a person (itago natin siya sa pangalang “Sandra”) who works in an IT training facility on Shaw Boulevard. We talked about a service she could render for me and she offered a price of 55 thousand.
I deposited 27,500 to her account (I have the deposit slip) on April 12, 2014. It is now February 8 and she has not rendered any service promised to me.
I have asked her repeatedly to refund if she cannot do what she promised. She then asked for payment terms and a discount and I agreed to a 20% discount. I have not seen a peso though.
Well, I guess some people really have no problem about taking someone’s money and spending it without actually working for it. I don’t get it.
This person has caused me a lot of grief and false expectations. How I wish the amount were 5 thousand—easy to forget. But 27,500 reminds me how dumb I was to have trusted a complete stranger.
I have thought about writing her employer, but can’t find the energy to do so. So I’ve decided to let God handle it and move on.
A suspected parricide case at Midland 2 Subd., San Juan; suspect also commits suicide after killing wife, 3 children pic.twitter.com/wjZKV39oF0
— Dexter Ganibe (@RPDexterGanibe) February 7, 2015
Which comes to an event on February 5, where a Taiwanese couple killed their three children and ended their own lives. From what I have gathered through Viber threads and news items, the family had been having financial difficulty. The wife had expressed suicidal thoughts two years ago. Two weeks ago she asked a doctor for strong sleeping pills, but only got mild ones.
On the day of the murders, the couple allegedly mixed the sleeping pills into their food and fed the two sons first (they were both Xavier boys).
They told the maid not to touch the food. Then they picked up their 18-year-old daughter from school. When they got home they fed her the food. When the kids were asleep, they wrapped their heads in plastic and bound their hands and feet in case they woke up.
And then the parents committed suicide. The father was supposedly last to go. He left a suicide note in the kitchen sink with instructions to have their bodies cremated and ashes sent to relatives in Taiwan.
It was the maid who found the note in the morning and alerted the neighbour who called the cops.
Ama na nakatira sa bahay na ito pinatay ang buong pamilya bago magsuicide ayon sa San Juan Police
@DZMMTeleRadyopic.twitter.com/JMNmodMK4O
— Dexter Ganibe (@RPDexterGanibe) February 7, 2015
All the parents are talking about it and are feeling really sad. It makes me wonder if some people are really desperate for money, is it what causes them to steal from the cash register, scam people, or borrow money and not pay them back?
As for Sandra, I have given up hope that she will ever refund my money. All she has to do is do what she promised and I will even pay the balance. I can only wish she is doing this out of desperation.
It makes me wonder if Karma will get back to her or good Karma goes to me. I do pray she has a conscience and doesn’t scam any more people.
As for the the Hsieh family, I pray for God’s divine mercy. I wish there had been another solution. I wish the children had been spared. I hope it will never happen again.
Sources:
http://rp1.abs-cbnnews.com/
http://www.journal.com.ph/
http://focustaiwan.tw/
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net
http://www.tempo.com.ph/