A ‘Filthy’ Rich US$ 100,000 Beggar Phenomenon
A TRUE STORY
Compassion, feel bad for other human being condition is become the nature of human. Whenever we saw a poor man begging for coins are always move everyone heart. Encouraging us to helps in the form of giving small change that we take it for granted almost as useless cash.
This useless coins for some people are wealth for somebody elses. Tickling our sense of helping in various way, this group of ‘professional’ beggar are gathering money more than most Indonesian do. They are dressing professionally and sitting on the dirty intersection when people throwing them coins in hope to relief the beggar miserable living with a small donations.
What a mind blowing are the fact that these street beggar living in a two stories building in their home village, with hectares of land they planting rice, with cars in their home garage and they keep doing their professional beggar job every day, and sending all money they make back to home village.
As an example of success financially, other village citizen following the path of begging in the bigger city, in Jakarta or other city. Trained to act better than Oscar nominated actors, dressed and looked more miserable than dressed by professional wardrobe, sometime with aesthetic hand or legs to trick motorist and donate for them, to win the competition in between the beggars.
Legiman, one example of financially successful beggar from Village Ngawen in Pati. He is also well known as Lik Man Ceker, or ‘Young Bro Ceker’. He is called Ceker because his hand looked flawed. When confirmed to Ngawen village, they know the man with similar face, then they doubt of that flawed hand of his. They may know the person in the picture but then the one he knows does not have flawed hand.
Legiman was arrested by Social agency of Indonesia caught begging in the street, which is illegal by the district law. The officer found his saving book with IDR 900.000.000 (nine hundred millions rupiah) in the account, which is around US$ 65,000. A house worth US$20,000 and land worth US$25,000 back home.
in total the officer found a total ownership of Legiman IDR 1,425 billion rupiah. That number translated to today’s exchange rate (Jan 31, 2019) as of just passed US$ 100.000,-
Further interview mentioned that he will bring back home at least US$70 (IDR 1 million) per working day not mentioned in the big holiday, they can make a lot more.
Compare to Legiman’s home village, minimum waged stated by the government IDR 1.742.000 per month, or US$ 125 per month wages, what these beggars made in just 2 days instead of one month. This type of profession is very attempting.
Walang bin Kilon is another success beggar, he found live in his cart for 15 days. When arrested he carry his IDR 25.000.000 in small money cash. IN his interrogation, he admit that he is coming to Jakarta being beggar to finance his plan to Pilgrimate Haj to mekkah.
Images source: Legiman Ceker @ Radar Pati / Jawapos; Walang bin Kilon@ bisnisfun. com