SINGAPORE: A man has taken to the internet to seek advice after a close friend borrowed about S$3,000 to S$4,000 from him before cutting off all contact.
Posting on the r/askSingapore Reddit forum on Thursday (Dec 18), the man shared that he agreed to lend his friend the money after being told that he was facing financial difficulties due to family issues and problems with his salary. Trusting him, he gave his friend up to a year to slowly repay the amount, without pressuring him to return it immediately.
However, his frustration grew after he noticed on social media that the friend was regularly going out with his girlfriend, while making no effort to pay back the money at all, not even in small monthly instalments.
When he eventually tried to follow up by texting him, his messages were met with nothing but “blue ticks and silence.”
At a loss over what to do next, the man turned to fellow netizens for advice, asking, “What can I do in this scenario? Be childish and expose their faces online? Report? To whom? Any help, please.”
“Treat it as the price for the friendship, and cut ties.”
In the comments, many urged the man to retaliate by publicly shaming his friend.
One commenter said, “You should have arranged a payment plan before, lah. I bet you’re not his only victim. He probably owes others money, too. Can expose on social media. His girlfriend might leave him due to shame. Do it anonymously.”
Another agreed, writing, “Burn bridges. Comment and say, ‘Waaa got money go out no money pay me back ah.’ This kind of person, [there’s no use if you just] DM them. Must shame them online since their lives are all online too.”
A third shared a personal experience, saying, “The last time someone owed me a four-digit sum, I called them at their workplace. They returned the money within 48 hours. Do what you will with that information.”
Still, not everyone supported taking revenge. A few said the man should just accept the loss and treat it as a painful lesson.
One wrote, “Age-old life lesson: Don’t lend money to friends that you can’t afford to lose. Treat it as the price for the friendship, and cut ties.”
Another echoed this, saying, “You never lend to family and friends. If you do, never expect to see the money come back. Otherwise, look at it as you paid the S$3-4k to get rid of this idiot who will never be able to bother you ever again.”
In other news, a young woman is pleading for advice online after discovering that her mum is being bullied into working overtime for free.
On Monday (Dec 1), the woman shared in a post on the r/askSingapore forum that her mum’s work usually ends at 5:30 p.m. (as stated in her employment contract), and she normally reaches their house around 6:00 p.m. However, ever since her new boss joined the company, her mum has been coming home past 8:30 p.m. almost every day.
