Scamming the elderly

A Trust Misplaced

Back in the day, there was an illiterate old woman in the village named Grandma Ieam. Having no children or grandchildren to inherit her belongings, and being too old to work, she sold almost ten rai of her rice paddies. Living in a small, vulnerable hut, she was terrified of keeping the cash at home for fear of thieves. In an era before banking was common, people relied on trusted individuals to safeguard their wealth.

Grandma Ieam placed her trust in Mr. Fuen, a man widely considered to be an exceptionally good person. He abstained from alcohol and smoking, donated generously, attended the temple regularly, and was close to the local abbot. As a wealthy landowner with a wife and no children, he seemed beyond reproach. Anyone in trouble went to him for advice.

Grandma Ieam entrusted Mr. Fuen with her life savings, intending to withdraw it gradually. She made one simple request: if she passed away before the money ran out, he was to use the funds for her funeral and donate the rest to the temple.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. You can rest assured,” Mr. Fuen confidently promised.

The Betrayal

For over a year, Grandma Ieam withdrew small amounts without issue. But one day, when she went to collect some cash, Mr. Fuen dropped a bombshell: her money was completely gone.

Shocked, Grandma Ieam argued that she had only ever withdrawn a few baht at a time. Mr. Fuen coldly insisted the funds were depleted. Heartbroken and confused, she stumbled home and pleaded with the villagers for help. Tragically, no one believed her. They assumed the poor, elderly woman was simply senile and had forgotten spending her own money. Even the village headman dismissed her claims. Since she had kept the deposit a secret to avoid robbery, she had no witnesses.

The Stubborn Protest

Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, Grandma Ieam began visiting Mr. Fuen’s house every single day to demand her money back. Initially polite, Mr. Fuen and his wife eventually grew fed up, cursing and chasing her away.

But Grandma Ieam refused to back down. She set up camp in a public rest shelter—a pavilion—right in front of Mr. Fuen’s house. She brought her bedding and declared she would not leave until her money was returned.

“Give me the money back, and I’ll leave. I’ve already given it all to you,” she demanded.

When she challenged him to swear an oath of innocence, Mr. Fuen arrogantly brushed it off, claiming an honest man like him didn’t need to swear. The villagers continued to side with him, believing Grandma Ieam had finally lost her mind.

Consumed by distress and resentment, Grandma Ieam stopped eating and sleeping. She warned that she would starve to death if he didn’t return her money, but Mr. Fuen simply ignored her. Days passed, and her condition rapidly deteriorated. Eventually, Grandma Ieam collapsed and died right there in the pavilion.

A Restless Spirit

Maintaining his facade, Mr. Fuen arranged and sponsored her funeral, earning even more praise from the oblivious villagers. He even donated the leftover wood from her demolished hut to the temple.

However, the peace was short-lived. Grandma Ieam’s spirit appeared in the abbot’s dreams for three consecutive nights, accusing Mr. Fuen of embezzlement. When confronted by the uneasy abbot, Mr. Fuen vehemently denied the accusations, using his wealth as proof that he had no reason to steal.

The Weight of Karma

Three years later, the undeniable weight of karma began to take its toll. Mr. Fuen fell inexplicably and chronically ill. He grew weak, telling his wife he suspected his time was running out. When the abbot suggested his illness was the result of bad karma, Mr. Fuen was stunned but maintained his innocence.

Soon, his mind began to unravel. He refused to stay inside his house, claiming it felt like it was on fire. He moved out to the very pavilion where Grandma Ieam had died, insisting it was his true home. Late at night, his wife caught him whispering into the dark, having full conversations with a ghost.

“Oh, I can’t remember… Ieam, how much money did you deposit with me? I thought I returned it all to you… Don’t ask me for it anymore. I can’t remember anything.”

The Truth Revealed

One day, his paranoia reached a breaking point. His wife caught him frantically counting a massive pile of cash in the pavilion. When she questioned him, he snapped, stuffing the money into a white cloth bag and acting like a cornered animal. She secretly followed him as he scurried into the house, eventually watching him hide the bag in a hollowed-out pillar.

Word of his erratic behavior reached the abbot, who immediately visited the pavilion. Confronted by the abbot and surrounded by curious villagers, Mr. Fuen finally broke.

Bursting into tears, he confessed everything. He admitted that the money belonged to Grandma Ieam and that a moment of overwhelming greed had caused him to betray her. Pleading for forgiveness, he donated the entirety of the stolen money to the temple to make merit for Grandma Ieam’s spirit.

But a confession does not erase the past. Even after returning the money, karma refused to forgive him. Mr. Fuen remained perpetually ill and trapped in a cycle of delirium. Whenever his mind slips away, he wanders back to the pavilion, endlessly apologizing to the spirit of the woman he wronged.