“So it’s not just the greedy who get scammed. Sometimes it’s also kind and helpful people, who are naive and uninformed” – Tom Parsons.
Tom, you reminded me of an incident that happened in 2006. My dad got sick and I went back with my kids to visit him in Ipoh. We took the express bus which stopped at the old mansion that belonged to the family of the famous actress from Ipoh (a Bond girl). We got down there and I made a call for a taxi to come fetch me and the kids to dad’s house.
While waiting for the taxi at the entrance of the bus station, an old lady (I guess she was in her 70s) approached me for some money. Her head was completely bound in white bandage and there was some blood stain on it. She even shoved me a laminated article about her plight cut from a Chinese newspaper. I could not read Chinese but I saw her picture there.
“I’m suffering from a brain tumor and I needed an operation as soon as possible. I am still short of several hundreds of dollars. Can you donate some please, to help this poor lady get an operation soon?” she asked me in a pitiful voice.
I took a look at her and indeed, she looked very pitiful. I gave her RM50.
“Can you give some more?” she asked again.
“Sorry, that’s all I have with me now,” I told her regretfully.
RM10 is all I have left in my purse after giving her the RM50 and I need them to pay the taxi driver. She left with a scornful look. When I looked around me, I saw people staring at me because I was the only one who gave her money. She left the premise soon after that.
When she was gone, a middle-aged Chinese lady who was selling ‘chee cheong fun’ at the entrance pointed at me and laughed. Shaking her head, she said amusingly, “You got conned just now. This old lady is a con woman. There is nothing wrong at all with her head now. That newspaper cutting was from many years back. She went for the operation free of charge at the government hospital long ago but she still used that bandage to cheat people of their money.”
“Why don’t you tell me just now when you saw me giving her the money?” I asked, angry that my kindness had been hijacked by an old lady.
“Of course nobody dare to say a word when she is around. She can get into a fit and beat people up. Even the bus operator and their staff are afraid of her and pretend that she did not exist,” answered the lady who sells ‘chee cheong fun’. “All the regulars here have been cheated too and now they are wiser,” she continued as she pointed to those sitting inside the bus station. They were still staring at me in silence. Some looked amused.
I left the place, angry and sad. It was indeed a lesson well learnt and which I could not forget.
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188 Hugh Low Street, Ipoh 
Begging comes a long way in world history. There are a lot of such beggars in Ipoh town. They went from restaurant to restaurant trying to earn the sympathy from the crowds. Some kind citizen will give them a ringgit or two, but I would not. It is not that I do not felt for them, but I want my money to really go to the one that is needed.
Hi Andrew,
I shared your sentiment now, after what I have been through. You know what, there are plenty of “fakes” out there, especially here in KL. Some are imported from other countries by local syndicates to beg in wet markets, shopping malls and other public places. These syndicates will drop and pick these “fakes” up at various locations. Accommodations and food are also provided for them. Look out for those without limbs and can sing very well. Yes, begging and conning have blended very well to tug at our hearts, so beware.
Oh yes, also look out for those who dressed up as holy men and women giving out some amulets, talisman or holy strings as blessings in return for some cash. People in robes are not allowed to beg for money in public. They are well taken care of by temples if they are indeed genuine. Only fakes beg.
Dear Ipohgal, Do not let a single incident change your desire to be generous, compassionate and kind to people who are worse off then you. Despite the increase in social services compared to 50 years ago, some people prefer to “beg” for a professional. This is now a new international profession. Sad but some of them make more money on the streets than people working for a living.
In China, I have witnessed extreme cons where they placed a child in a wheel barrow, lying that for all to see and the whole barrow was decorated with the propaganda in reference to the medical condition of the poor child (presumable suffering from cancer and needed money). The barrow was displayed in the center of a city square. You also see earlier in the 1980s (in China) where people amputate one of their limbs to beg. Another extreme which is frightening for tourist occurred in a large Chinese city. One beggar came out to beg and you pay him/her. This triggered a whole bunch coming after you for money. You virtually had to run away from them. Finally, how do you react to a mother holding a fat chubby baby asking for money (to buy food) ?
My personal view on this: donate regularly to a recognised charity annual that helps the homeless and the sick. Then you do’t have to worry about these parasites on the streets.
Hi IpohBornKid,
Don’t worry, this unpleasant incident does not stop me from making annual donations to charitable organisations like the home for the blind and dialysis centres. 🙂
You don’t have to travel to China to see how some people masquerade themselves as beggars. They are right here in our country. Just down the street from where I stayed was a budget inn inhabitated by professional beggars from that country. Young and good looking youths of both sexes with one or two limbs amputated made their rounds in the city to gain sympathies. They are usually picked up in a van operated by some local syndicates who were responsible in bringing them over here. To them, it was a job, not a scam. Makes me wonder why our immigration let them in, in the first place.
On top of these “beggars” we also have China dolls to contend with. These ladies of the night came by the thousands to dig at the pockets of “old and lonely men” leaving them happy in the groin areas but dry in the pockets. Such social hazards! 😦
gosh, what a way to con people. i wonder if she’s still around now.
Hi Barb,
It has been a few years since the incident so I am not sure if she is still around but the lady selling chee cheong fun said her face is familiar to many in Ipoh, especially at bus stations.