What I am going to write today is not going to be easy. In fact, it is one of the most difficult thing I have ever done to an individual. Since it was difficult, why then did I still do it? I felt it would be for his good. Anyway, I will not be vague anymore in today's blog.
I had to witness the arrest of the man I spoke about on the 23 October 2007 blog. All the burdens, struggles, betrayal, sadness and anger I mentioned for the past few days were all related to this man. I'm not going to reveal his name as I feel it is important that no one ostracises him the next time he is released from prison and may be invited back to the church for spiritual support.
It all started on 23 October when this man was referred to me by a friend. I took the case up to see how I could assist this individual. The crux of the whole matter was that he needed to loan some money - he cited reasons that he just got released from prison in July this year and did not have enough money to last him till he receives his first pay-cheque. He said he needed to pay for the rental of a room.
We invited the man to church and along with a Lay Ministry Staff (LMS), we tried our best to help him. We asked questions as we wanted to know him better since that was the first time we knew him and also from there see how else we can support him other than just his financial needs. At the end of the session, we trusted his account and passed him $150.
Then a couple of days later he messaged my friend for some more money - saying that the initial $150 he received was to pay for the rent and that he did not have money for food and transport. My friend decided to lend the amount to him through me. I met the man and after we spoke for a while I passed him the cash. Instead of $150, I handed to him $160.
In my conversation with my friend, I was saddened that this individual told her that he was being questioned by the LMS and me the first time we met him as if he was being interrogated like a prisoner. We did not have that in mind as we were interested to know more about him as a person and not an ex-convict.
Anyway, the next day, the man called and informed me that he lost the money my friend lent him while he was walking to a client's place. This was the beginning of my suspicion as I felt it was just too coincidental. Then he asked to borrow some more money. I told him I would think of some other means. He messaged a couple of times after that but I did not reply. In one of the messages he told me if I do not wish to help him, he could find other means.
After that I told him to come to church on Saturday to meet the LMS and I. He initially rejected the offer but after a while, he messaged to say he would come over. When we met, the LMS asked the man whether all these while he has been telling the truth and he said he had. Anyway some of the things he re-accounted began to contradict themselves. This aroused even more suspicion for the LMS and I but we still passed him $50 instead of the $90 he requested. We also got him to thumbprint an I.O.U. since he said he lost his identity card (ic) along with the rest of the contents like the $160 I passed him the other day, the EZ-link card which the LMS passed him when we first met him, a cashcard and some name-cards. Again we suspected he was telling another lie about the loss of his ic because when we first met him and requested to have the ic photostated, he said he did not want to bring it out for fear that he might lose it. Now he said he has lost it with the rest of his stuff.
Anyway, on Sunday evening, again he messaged me and asked whether we could pass him the remaining $40 as he had run out of cash. Again I did not reply his messages and in one of them, he said it was okay if I did not want to help anymore and that he would sell his company's handphone and use the money for his expenses. After that there was no more news from him.
Then came yesterday when the LMS messaged to update me on some information about the man. She got them while she was attending a Social Worker's Seminar. She asked one of the staff of another church whether she has heard of the man's name as he had mentioned her church before. It was then that the staff shared about this man who had been going to her church and had been using the same reasons to obtain money.
It was from there I decided to do some investigations myself. After work, I went to check out two addresses the man gave me - one belonged to his boss' home office and the other was the rented place. Both were bogus - the flat number he gave did not exist. This was when I felt sad and angry.
Then came this morning when I decided to call another church to ask for the pastor who counselled the man while he was in prison. It was from this conversation that I received more shocking news - the man was not convicted for rioting as he initially stated; instead it was for deserting National Service; he was not released this year but some time in late 2005 or early 2006; he has been going around churches since then asking for money as many of these churches had also enquired about the man from this pastor; this individual has a Filipino wife.
Anyway, in the morning the man called the LMS to say he wanted to collect the $40 from her. It was scheduled at 4pm and both the LMS and I met him in church. Prior to that I prayed and asked the Lord to change the heart of this man and that he would at least tell us some truths.
When we started talking to the man, he said he had a few things to confess which I thought was good and that if he would be willing to come clean, we might not want to take any actions against him. We listened to him and to our disappointment, the 'truths' were also lies as we already had enough information to know whether he is bluffing us or not. The LMS even kept asking whether he was telling the truth and he said he was.
The Pastor-in-Charge after hearing about how this man had not been willing to be opened to us reported the case to the police. They came and it was from here that we learnt that the individual is a wanted man at two police divisions. One for something related to property matters and the other was for Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL). The church decided not to take actions against him regarding the loan we gave him.
It was not an easy decision for all to make regarding having to report the man to the authorities. We felt it would be for his good and also for the rest whom he may cheat should no action be taken. Initially we told the police to let him off with a stern warning but after informing us about the other crimes he had committed, it was beyond our means to let the man off.
The LMS and I are affected by the above-mentioned but as I have mentioned on my 23 October blog, I will go all the way to help this individual. I have informed the police to notify me of the hearing date so that I can be there for him. Whether he is angry with me for having him arrested, that I will not know until I see him. I shall also be praying for him daily and see how else God can use me to reach out to this individual.
Well, that is all I want to share. Am I relieved now that the man has been arrested? Nope. All I ask now is that he will learn from his mistakes and give God a chance to change his life.
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
I had to witness the arrest of the man I spoke about on the 23 October 2007 blog. All the burdens, struggles, betrayal, sadness and anger I mentioned for the past few days were all related to this man. I'm not going to reveal his name as I feel it is important that no one ostracises him the next time he is released from prison and may be invited back to the church for spiritual support.
It all started on 23 October when this man was referred to me by a friend. I took the case up to see how I could assist this individual. The crux of the whole matter was that he needed to loan some money - he cited reasons that he just got released from prison in July this year and did not have enough money to last him till he receives his first pay-cheque. He said he needed to pay for the rental of a room.
We invited the man to church and along with a Lay Ministry Staff (LMS), we tried our best to help him. We asked questions as we wanted to know him better since that was the first time we knew him and also from there see how else we can support him other than just his financial needs. At the end of the session, we trusted his account and passed him $150.
Then a couple of days later he messaged my friend for some more money - saying that the initial $150 he received was to pay for the rent and that he did not have money for food and transport. My friend decided to lend the amount to him through me. I met the man and after we spoke for a while I passed him the cash. Instead of $150, I handed to him $160.
In my conversation with my friend, I was saddened that this individual told her that he was being questioned by the LMS and me the first time we met him as if he was being interrogated like a prisoner. We did not have that in mind as we were interested to know more about him as a person and not an ex-convict.
Anyway, the next day, the man called and informed me that he lost the money my friend lent him while he was walking to a client's place. This was the beginning of my suspicion as I felt it was just too coincidental. Then he asked to borrow some more money. I told him I would think of some other means. He messaged a couple of times after that but I did not reply. In one of the messages he told me if I do not wish to help him, he could find other means.
After that I told him to come to church on Saturday to meet the LMS and I. He initially rejected the offer but after a while, he messaged to say he would come over. When we met, the LMS asked the man whether all these while he has been telling the truth and he said he had. Anyway some of the things he re-accounted began to contradict themselves. This aroused even more suspicion for the LMS and I but we still passed him $50 instead of the $90 he requested. We also got him to thumbprint an I.O.U. since he said he lost his identity card (ic) along with the rest of the contents like the $160 I passed him the other day, the EZ-link card which the LMS passed him when we first met him, a cashcard and some name-cards. Again we suspected he was telling another lie about the loss of his ic because when we first met him and requested to have the ic photostated, he said he did not want to bring it out for fear that he might lose it. Now he said he has lost it with the rest of his stuff.
Anyway, on Sunday evening, again he messaged me and asked whether we could pass him the remaining $40 as he had run out of cash. Again I did not reply his messages and in one of them, he said it was okay if I did not want to help anymore and that he would sell his company's handphone and use the money for his expenses. After that there was no more news from him.
Then came yesterday when the LMS messaged to update me on some information about the man. She got them while she was attending a Social Worker's Seminar. She asked one of the staff of another church whether she has heard of the man's name as he had mentioned her church before. It was then that the staff shared about this man who had been going to her church and had been using the same reasons to obtain money.
It was from there I decided to do some investigations myself. After work, I went to check out two addresses the man gave me - one belonged to his boss' home office and the other was the rented place. Both were bogus - the flat number he gave did not exist. This was when I felt sad and angry.
Then came this morning when I decided to call another church to ask for the pastor who counselled the man while he was in prison. It was from this conversation that I received more shocking news - the man was not convicted for rioting as he initially stated; instead it was for deserting National Service; he was not released this year but some time in late 2005 or early 2006; he has been going around churches since then asking for money as many of these churches had also enquired about the man from this pastor; this individual has a Filipino wife.
Anyway, in the morning the man called the LMS to say he wanted to collect the $40 from her. It was scheduled at 4pm and both the LMS and I met him in church. Prior to that I prayed and asked the Lord to change the heart of this man and that he would at least tell us some truths.
When we started talking to the man, he said he had a few things to confess which I thought was good and that if he would be willing to come clean, we might not want to take any actions against him. We listened to him and to our disappointment, the 'truths' were also lies as we already had enough information to know whether he is bluffing us or not. The LMS even kept asking whether he was telling the truth and he said he was.
The Pastor-in-Charge after hearing about how this man had not been willing to be opened to us reported the case to the police. They came and it was from here that we learnt that the individual is a wanted man at two police divisions. One for something related to property matters and the other was for Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL). The church decided not to take actions against him regarding the loan we gave him.
It was not an easy decision for all to make regarding having to report the man to the authorities. We felt it would be for his good and also for the rest whom he may cheat should no action be taken. Initially we told the police to let him off with a stern warning but after informing us about the other crimes he had committed, it was beyond our means to let the man off.
The LMS and I are affected by the above-mentioned but as I have mentioned on my 23 October blog, I will go all the way to help this individual. I have informed the police to notify me of the hearing date so that I can be there for him. Whether he is angry with me for having him arrested, that I will not know until I see him. I shall also be praying for him daily and see how else God can use me to reach out to this individual.
Well, that is all I want to share. Am I relieved now that the man has been arrested? Nope. All I ask now is that he will learn from his mistakes and give God a chance to change his life.
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
No comments:
Post a Comment