This is going to be long, please bear with me.
It all started a few years ago, when my mother’s younger
brother(my uncle) ran into financial difficulty following losses in
soccer betting. He approached my parents for a loan and to help him
apply for a credit card under my dad’s name. The money amounted to
10k. My dad was reluctant initially but my mom persuaded him to,
they were siblings after all, she felt she had to help.
Along the years my mother brought up the issue of payment to him
several times, only to be replied with, “i’ll pay you back when i
have the money”. He didnt pay back. His false claims of having no
money was accompanied by his extravagant spending. Every new year,
his daughters would have the latest handphones and mp3s, branded
clothes and all. In addition, his daughter boasted that she had a
cash-online card given to her by her dad. My mom would ask him “you
said you had no money but there you are, living such an extravagant
lifestyle, giving ur daughter a debit card, he replied,”my money,
none of your business”(wo de qian bu guan ni de shi).
Fast forward to this year, my parents are having financial
difficulties themselves. Their business is not doing well and my
father owes the bank money. They would always quarrel and we had to
sell the car and send the maid home. Because of this my mother has
tried to asked him about the money, he would get irritated and
aggressive over the phone, saying that even if he had the money he
wouldnt pay her back. He believed that my family was well to do and
it was our obligation to give him the money. Our families have not
met for the past 2 chinese new year. My mom would give red packets
to her sister to pass it to his kids. He has never once rejected
the red packets, gladly taking it, with no red packets given by him
whatsoever.
I’ve seen my mother crying alone in the living room on countless
occassions, crying over the loss of a brother and over what she
thought initially was a well meaning gesture to help her brother
tide over trouble times, has instead serve to distance them to the
point of losing their family ties. My dad on the other hand does
not want to contact him, saying that he is resigned to never seeing
the money again. As the eldest son, i feel helpless seeing my
parents struggle to make a living, my mom’s a fruit shop operator,
and my dad is getting on with his years. They have to scrimp and
save to put their kids through school. I’m 19 this year. And i want
to help them get the money back. I plan to head over to my uncle’s
place one night(havent been there in like 5-6years) and have a talk
with him. I know this is not right, as a chinese saying goes, “let
the adults handle the matter, kids shouldnt interfere”. I have
thought about going over and beating the shit out of him but its
not right, hes my elder after all. I want to go over without my
parents knowledge and have a amicable talk with him, explaining my
parent’s situation. And hoping that he would have a conscience and
return the money. I would love to hear your feedbacks on this.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you are familiar with
the law, and there are any avenues to claim it back. please tell
me.
