A maid got herself involved the loan sharks. Initially, the amount she got from the sharks were only $3000 and of course being loan sharks they told the maid to return $6000 double the amount!
The employer has been receiving multiple harassment text messages such as:
“You worker owe me money So call me back to setter asap If not tonight we will ask man go up you place to do something.”
Source: http://sgkaypoh.com
He was planning to replace his current five-year-old Ducati 848 with a new Ducati Panigale this year, but Mr Kevin Liew now has to consider cheaper options instead.
The change of plans came after Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced a new tiered tax system for motorcycles while delivering the Budget on Monday (Feb 20) in Parliament.
Under the new system, the 15-per-cent Additional Registration Fee (ARF) will stay for motorcycles with an open market value (OMV) of up to S$5,000. The subsequent S$5,000 of its OMV will incur an ARF of 50 per cent, and the remaining OMV above S$10,000 will come with an ARF of 100 per cent.
The Ducati Panigale that Mr Liew was eyeing was estimated to cost around S$40,000, but with the changes, it would cost “around S$50,000 or S$60,000”, the 27-year-old marketing manager said.
“Bikes are already overpriced in Singapore compared to other countries because of the COE (Certificate of Entitlement),” Mr Liew added. “With this new scheme, they are only going to get even more expensive.”
Mr Heng said that a small but rising number of buyers are getting expensive motorcycles, with OMVs similar to those of small cars. To address this, the tiered ARF would be introduced for motorcycles registered with COEs obtained from the second February bidding exercise onwards.
He added that, going by current registration trends, more than half of new motorcycle buyers would not have to pay more.
Although the new tax scheme is meant to target luxury-bike owners, some owners of “working class” motorcycles said that they would be affected as well. And the bikers community is upset over the move, lamenting that it would cause a spike in motorcycle prices.
Mr Justin Khaw, 25, who rides a Honda Trial Bike and was planning to switch to a Honda Africa Twin, said: “Nowadays, most bikes in the open class 2A category cost close to S$10,000 and above.”
With the new ARF, instead of paying S$32,000 for the Honda Africa Twin, Mr Khaw, an undergraduate, will have to fork out around S$36,000 to S$40,000. He has since decided to look for something cheaper.
Mr Khaw remarked that the move would do little to reduce vehicular traffic. “If Singapore’s goal is to curb congestion on the roads, then perhaps alternative transport such as motorcycles should be considered. So why are the taxes for motorcycles increasing? Shouldn’t it be decreasing instead?”
Given that cars and motorcycles do not contribute to congestion equally, he said, he wondered why bikers are “taxed and subjected to the same vehicle control policies as cars”.
Source: www.todayonline.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 ― Dr Farah’s wedding celebration last year comprised three receptions costing a whopping RM95,000 that forced her to take a RM15,000 loan even after getting financial help from her family.
The 30-year-old doctor, who asked to speak using a pseudonym, said that her father had sponsored RM15,000 for the reception at his home state in Kelantan, while her husband’s family spent RM15,000 for their wedding dinner in Putrajaya.
“My mum’s a doctor, my dad’s a doctor and three of us siblings are doctors. If we do a very simple wedding, people will wonder why we are doing a very simple wedding when we’re doctors,” Dr Farah told The Malay Mail Online in a recent interview.
“That was my mum’s thinking. My mum’s function was very grand. There were dancers, ‘silat’ (Malay martial arts) performers, an MC who was hired,” she said, adding that the third reception, which was for her mother’s side of the family in Selayang, cost RM30,000. There were separate receptions for her parents as they are divorced.
Dr Farah said that she and her 29-year-old husband spent another RM35,000 on items like dowry, a jazz band at one of the receptions, silat performers, accommodation for her in-laws who are from Johor, invitation cards, decorations, clothes, wedding rings and make-up.
Despite the exorbitant cost of the wedding, however, Dr Farah said that she and her husband managed to buy a condominium unit in Putrajaya.
Seasoned wedding planners say that the cost of an average wedding, across all races, has soared to above RM50,000, causing some couples to take out personal loans to pay for their nuptials if they are unable to get much financial support from their parents.
At Malay and Indian weddings, food domes, food stations and buffets are common, said Leticia Hsu, president and co-founder of the Association of Wedding Professionals (AWP)
According to wedding planners, the dowry given by the groom’s family to the bride’s side among the Chinese ranges from a few hundred to tens of thousands of ringgit.
For the Malay community, the dowry, or “wang hantaran” gifted by the groom to the bride’s family is between RM10,000 and RM18,000 for low to medium-range weddings, and RM50,000 for high-end weddings. Indian Malaysians, on the other hand, generally do not practise the dowry custom.
Another wedding planner, Nasrul Nasaruddin, said that the average Malay wedding costs between RM50,000 and RM80,000 if it is held at a convention centre or a tent. But the cost shoots up to RM300,000, or even a million ringgit if it is held at a five-star hotel.
“For five-star hotels, the standard rate is RM200 per pax, depending on the package,” Nasrul told The Malay Mail Online at a recent interview.
The founder of Nas Great Idea added that guests usually give RM200 “angpows” (envelopes containing cash gifts) at Malay weddings held at five-star hotels, breaking away from the tradition of giving gifts. If the wedding reception is held at a tent, both gifts and angpows are generally given.
Nasrul, who started his business 12 years ago, said that the Malay wedding reception is typically sponsored by the bride’s family. But if both partners live in different states, the groom’s family may also organise their own dinner. Inviting 1,000 guests to a Malay wedding reception is not unusual.
“For high-end weddings, they will have a ceremony at the bride’s, groom’s, for the media, VIPs. So, in total, three to five receptions. For politicians, they have receptions at their home state where they invite lots of people, up to 15,000,” he said.
Nasrul said that decoration is key for Malay weddings and described previous weddings he has organised, such as creating a glass floor with flowers underneath at the stage area where the “pelamin”, or the traditional wedding dais that represents the bridal couple as the king and queen sitting in state, is located.
“For high-end weddings, the decoration costs between RM100,000 and RM500,000,” he said.
“The trend now is for massive pelamin decoration that catches your eye. Five years ago, it was stiff pelamin decor ― flowers and pillars. Now, they transform the whole ballroom, like turning it into a garden of flowers, a Japanese garden with bonsai trees, Oriental with cherry blossoms, European with Roman pillars, or Minangkabau style, Javanese style, Acheh style, or Moroccan style with a dome and stained glass,” he added.
Nasrul, who mostly plans Malay weddings and some high-end Chinese or Indian ones, said recently that he is organising a “Chengdu style” wedding for a Chinese tycoon next year, with the ballroom lined with a structure resembling the Great Wall of China and transformed into a garden with pagodas.
The lavish wedding of celebrity couple Rozita Che Wan and Zain Saidin on December 11, dubbed the wedding of the year, was reported by Malay-language daily Harian Metro last month to have received a sponsorship of RM13 million.
The newspaper also reported that the actress would receive RM23,200 in “wang hantaran” and a wedding ring estimated to cost RM93,000.
“Wang hantaran” for the average Malay couple can be equally expensive, Dr Farah noted, saying that some of her friends had splurged on luxury watches and handbags that cost tens of thousands, despite not being able to afford them, as the “wang hantaran” is displayed prominently at the reception or ceremony.
“My friend bought a Maurice Lacroix watch, which cost RM20,000, even though he has only been working for two years,” said Dr Farah. “We live in a materialistic world.”
Excessive spending on weddings has also strained newlyweds’ relationships, with Dr Farah observing that some of her friends have even gotten divorced after splurging on their big day because of financial concerns over starting a family, or even buying a car.
Nasrul said that local weddings typically have a huge number of guests, unlike more intimate Western nuptials, because Malaysians fear offending others.
“Malaysians are very sensitive. If you hear that your friend is getting married, you will feel that there is something wrong if you’re not invited. That’s why they invite all,” he said.
He added that he charges clients between RM20,000 and RM30,000 on average to organise the decorations for their weddings, though his fees start at RM5,000.
According to Nasrul, honeymoons for Malaysian newlyweds, which are not included in the wedding expenditure, cost at least RM5,000 for local or South-east Asian spots, and above RM50,000 for trips to Europe, where the popular destinations are Paris and Rome.
Source: www.themalaymailonline.com
Why do some people even think it’s okay to borrow money from others, promise to pay back by a certain date, come up with 101 excuses when it’s time to pay, and then finally stop replying to your messages or worse still, block you everywhere? EH??
WHAT’S UP WITH THESE LOAN JUNKIES?
I made the mistake of trusting a friend. He was my good friend. (Or I thought he was.) I believed his story when he asked to borrow. I did not even think twice about helping him. But he stopped replying to my messages after promising this and that. He is still in my FB list. Saw him having an open house (which I was not invited to, dang!) and celebrating raya like a normal functional family. Happy for him. ?
Money can indeed turn friends or family members into strangers, huh?
You know what really gets my goat?
The borrower will make the lender feel bad for wanting him/her to repay the amount owed. The lender on the other hand, ends up being A NAG, BAD WOLF, and THE CALCULATIVE ONE.
Where’s the logic even, dude?
Perhaps next time, before these loan junkies even think about borrowing money from someone, they should borrow a sense of responsibility first.
Source: Diah Mastura
To all my dear friends. I experienced this myself. I was in Tampines today and this woman approached me to ask to lend her some money.
She say she is from Shanghai and that she ran into some problems here and need money to tide over.So she is seeking a loan assistance and that she will return the money.
She will ask you for your phone number to pay you back.
I encounter the same situation/ same story line with a guy in Bedok last week and I say this can’t be a coincidence.
A syndicate or team is probably operating to scam sympathy money from the public so please share this and warn your frens that we have sympathy for you but we are not suckers either.
Source: Kelvin Lua