Dad sells kids to pay off debts

A desperate man can do drastic things and this father in Malaysia was desperate enough to sell off his children to pay off his extensive gambling debts.

It was reported in AsiaOne that the man, a lorry driver in his mid-twenties had sold his children without the knowledge of their mother and is now uncontactable by family and the authorities.

A good story
The children’s mother, Liew Kim Yow, 27, had told reporters that the father, who was her live-in boyfriend at the time, had suggested to her to leave their kids with his mother, while they both went to Singapore for work. At that time, the three children, aged one to five were staying with her in Serendah, Hulu Selangor with her while he went to work as a lorry driver.

Something fishy
However, after three months, they had still not made any plans to move to Singapore nor was she ever allowed to see her children. This raised alarm bells in Liew’s mind and she finally lodged a report against the man on Dec 23^rd 2012. To her utter shock, she found that the father of her three children had lodged a report earlier in October alleging that she had been missing from home since May.

Adopted or sold?
According to police reports, the man had claimed that he had no choice but to give up his children for adoption as he could not afford to raise them on his own.

However Liew begged to differ as she claimed that she had never left home. She stated that the father of her children was a compulsive gambler and had been in heavy debt before, probably concocting the story of her disappearance to cast off suspicion on himself.

She later alerted officers at the MCA Public Complaints and Services Department of the possibility that her children might have been sold saying, “He told me before that someone had offered him RM50,000 (S$20,316) to adopt our son and RM20,000 for our eldest daughter. I told him that no matter how poor we were, we could not sell our children."

If the father has indeed 'sold' his children, he could be charged with human trafficking.

Money the root of many problems
This case highlights once again how money can push us to extreme actions, such as considering selling our own children! So here's some useful tips on how to manage your family finances effectively.

1. What you need vs what you want
There is a fine line between what you need and what you want and you should teach this to your children from an early age. You can do this by encouraging savings. Have two piggy banks and label one 'Needs' and the other "Wants". In the "Needs" bank, you will regularly drop money in as you the parent are responsible for your children's needs and in the "Wants" bank, your child can save his own money, with you contributing and that money can be used for what he wants. This will teach your child the value of money as well and also better understand the concept of needs and wants.

2. Pay off all credit cards on time
This is to eliminate having to pay extras in interest. In fact, if you can help it, try to pay with money you have and not on credit. This eliminates you being debt-ridden.

3. Eat at home
Eating out often can take a toll on  your wallet as a family dinner in a restaurant can easily cost five times more than the amount of eating at home. Also eating out can be significantly unhealthier as well.

4. Set up a fixed account
This creates a 'forced' savings every month which you won't be able to tap into for a certain amount of time. This can help you save for your children's future.

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