Values of Honesty &
Responsibility - Article 1. "Call the
police!" the coffeeshop lady shouted
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
09 September, 2010 |
 toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
Project 2010-0129 |
"Call the
police! Call the police!" the coffee-shop lady stated loudly as Mr Lim
answered the phone. Somebody representing me had demanded that
he pay his debt of $2,000 to me. Mr Lim had stopped payment of
his $2,000-cheque to me and would not return my calls for the
past 1 year. He had asked me for a $5,000 temporary loan as he
had cash-flow problems and promised to return the money in one
month's time with interest.
"I don't want your interest," I had been acquainted
with Mr Lim for the past 30 years and he had done some
renovation work for my surgery. He had become a businessman in dire financial straits
in 2007. Mr Lim took the $5,000
and I was out of sight, out of mind.
That was one and a half years ago in 2008. After many
persistent phone calls for the second
half 2009, he gave me a cheque of $5,000. The next 2 days,
he wanted the cheque back and gave me a cheque of $3,000
first. After a
few days later, he gave me another one for $2,000 cheque which he stopped
payment soon.
He just ignored my calls for another year. I
told an old friend about him and he offered to help me by phoning
me. He was no bill collector or loan shark as I don't get
involved with the shady world of gangsters and opportunists
that still exist in Singapore.
Mr Lim promised to phone
me the next day and he did. He paid $500 and that was OK with
me. He still was in the financial pits but I could not help him.
He wanted to be self-employed and had made a million dollars
before. Now his fortunes crashed and burnt but he had to be
honest and responsible in his dealings with people like me. An
interest-free loan of $5,000 was no small change.
Honesty is important in business and he should know better as
he was from my generation where one's word is as good as gold.
On Sep 6, 2010, I
phoned him to invite for breakfast at Chinatown to see
if I could advise him or be of help to him in his business as
we had a long history of friendship. But no more financial
help. I wanted to know whether the lady who asked him to call
the police was his assistant.
"Who was the lady who asked you to call the police?" I asked
Mr Lim at the Chinatown coffeeshop on this bright sunshine morning.
I was sadder now as my god-daughter was killed in a car
accident in Perth 3 days ago and her mother, a very old friend
was seriously injured.
Mr Lim has a young lady as his assistant.
From what I know of the character and personality of his
assistant who was well brought up by a family in Indonesia, I would
say she was not the instigator to call the police. But I had
to know whether my judgment of character was up to par.
So
I asked Mr Lim during the cup of lousy coffee at a coffeeshop: "Who was the lady who asked you to call the
police? Her husband must be some big gun in the Singapore
Police Force."
"Your friend was
speaking in a loud voice and was quite rough in asking me to
repay my loan. That lady is a
coffeeshop operator in Keong Siak Street." Keong
Siak Street was where I was having breakfast with him. There
is a famous fish porridge in this area but the stall had not
opened at 7.30 a.m.
I said: "Where is she now? I would like to see how she looks
like."
Mr Lim said: "She is not working so early. I told her at that
time not to interfere with my business."
I said: "My friend told me that she was shouting 'Call the police! Call the police!
many times while he was talking to you over the phone. He
welcomed you to call the police and even offered to give you
his name and telephone number! "
I was surprised when Mr Lim admitted: "I am in the wrong.
I waved the coffeeshop lady away and asked her to mind her own
business."
I said: "The coffeeshop lady must have police connections as
she was rather aggressive shouting over your head such that my
friend could hear her.
"Is her husband the Commissioner of Police?" I asked Mr Lim
with a serious face. Obviously this was a stupid question. No
wife of a Commissioner of Police would need to work or to be
working in a coffeeshop and in an area with a history of being
a red-light district of Singapore some 30 years ago.
"No, no," Mr Lim replied. "Her husband is a training instructor
in the police force."
So there was this police connection which emboldened the wife
to advise calling the police as she thought that a loan shark
had bitten Mr Lim. Recently the police had caught a few loan
sharks and their operators and put them behind bars.
"The police do not interfere in civil matters," I said. "My
friend did not threaten you nor vandalise your property. He is
a gentleman who is aware of the laws. If every debtor calls
the police, the police will have no time for real police
criminal investigation.
I listened to Mr Lim's bad luck in the project in which he was
owed $100,000. He had been advised to take legal action but he
did not want to. I said: "Lawyers want deposits and then more
deposits with no guarantee of success.
"It is wise of you not to
proceed with litigation. Let me talk to the other party if the
party is interested. If not, just move positively in new
projects and learn from the bad experience. I am surprised
that you would ignore my phone calls for the past year."
Giving a cheque to secure a loan is a common ploy of desperate
borrowers who are usually known to the lender. Sometimes it is
better not to help others in need as it is usually money down
the drain. There will be threats by the borrower to "call the
police" as if the use of the word "police" is so frightening
in a modern Singapore.
Honesty is the best policy in sustaining a professional
business. If Mr Lim had paid even $50.00 per month, he would
have had paid up after many months. But when a man is in dire
financial straits, the aim is to get loan without any
intention of returning the money. Some of them behave aggressively
as if it is the lender owes the borrower money. Do not lend
money to a friend unless you are prepared to lose a friend or
the money. Litigation is costly and not a solution as you
throw good money after bad.
Honesty and responsibility seldom exist in many people when
they are in dire financial straits. The use of cheque as
security is a good ploy by such people as they can always stop
payment or let the cheque bounce. They have no intention of
paying you back or they have gone to the pits of financial
ruin and forget about you.
 I took a photograph for readers to appreciate the surroundings
of pretty restored shophouses
where I had coffee with him. It was a perfect time for
photography as the bright rays of the morning sun light up the
shophouses.
As for Mr Lim, he would get on with being careful not to give
credit anymore whenever he does renovation work. "You should
be like a lawyer in that the client has to top up the deposit
before continuing the case," I said. "No deposit, no
services."
I hope he would know how to manage his business as Singapore
is getting very competitive, even for veterinarians. He was
more a inventor-type of guy, but being self-employed, he has
to take care of his bottom-line.
P.S This is my first article to impart the values of honesty
and responsibility to the young ones. In the older generation
born in the 1940s, many believe in keeping their promises.
Their word is as good as their bond. No contracts. So, it is
actually easy to con this generation. "No black and white"
when the case goes to the police! |
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