The Whale that beached

Part II

Against the advice of Ah Yong and other junket operators, he returned to the ship that very night.  They had told him to take a good rest before coming back but he would not listen.  His adrenaline pumping.  He could not wait. It went well at first – before things started to turn sour again.  By the next morning, he had lost an additional $250,000.

Bad luck continued to dog him over the next few months.  By his own reckoning, he lost just about every trip he made to the casinos.  He had exhausted all his funds and used up all the credits available in his credit cards.  His debts were mounting. The junket operators lost their patience and threatened him over the phone.  He spent the day scanning the jobs vacant column for every position there was.  But the replies, if they came at all, were always the same – no.  He stopped driving because he did not have enough money to buy petrol.   

Still he put up a brave front and did not breathe a word to his family.  But the façade could not last.  When his money ran out, he had to tell his wife even though he lied about the extent of his losses.  She took the news without a murmur of complaint, only advising him not to repeat his mistake.  Then she withdrew all her savings, and when that was not enough, gave him her jewellery. 

But when even that was not enough, he had to seek help from his parents who forgave him and gave him all their savings.  Next, shame-faced, he went to see his in-laws.  They too were forgiving and gave him their life savings. Still it was not enough.  But he no longer had the courage to tell them and so whenever they asked him how things were, he would reply that things were fine and he would get a job soon.  No one knew the depth of his depression nor the fact that he recorded a goodbye tape one late night when things got really bad.  With tears streaming down his cheeks, he said, “When you see this recording, my love, I will no longer be around…”

When Tan Kim Teck read the letter, his eyes lit up.  At last, a positive reply from the hundreds of applications sent.  He had been accepted by a big corporation as its finance manager.  He could see the flickering light at the end of the tunnel. With money from the job, he could make a comeback to the casinos and recover the losses that had made his life a living hell. 
                               
On his fifth day with the company, he was abruptly summoned to a meeting with his junket creditors. Impatiently, they warned:

“Don’t play games with me, Mr Tan.  You gambled so freely with my money and now you tell me you cannot pay.  You told me two months ago that you needed time to pay and I gave you a chance.  Your two months’ up and still there is no money.  I’m a businessman and I’m reasonable.  But I cannot wait forever.  Do you want me to come to your home or your company?”

“But I really can’t raise the money.  Please…give me a bit more time.”

“How much more time?  Look, you are a se boon lang (well-bred person) but I’m a pai kia (bad hat).  I tried to be se boon (polite) with you but if you force me, then I may not be so nice anymore.”

“One more month.  I promise I’ll raise the money by then.”

“One more month, huh…are you sure this time?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

“Ok…don’t say I’m not reasonable.  One more month and that’s it.  If you don’t pay up by then…”

There was a stack of documents in the tray for his action but Tan Kim Teck was in no mood to look at them.  He was a desperate man.  Although he had gained another month’s reprieve and felt the noose loosen slightly, he knew it was only a temporary relief.  How could he raise $200,000 in a month?  And what about the $300,000 he owed the other two operators?  They would be coming for him too. 

He stared down sadly.  Then something caught his eye.  It was a message chit his secretary had left on his desk.  Some bank officers had wanted him to return his call.  As he looked at the chit, an idea brewed.  Maybe there was a way out after all.  He had borrowed from banks but the amounts were relatively small because the loans were made in his name.  What if they were borrowed in his company’s name?  For sure, the amounts would be much larger – large enough to solve his financial woes. 

Part I | Part III

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