Family of cleaner killed in Budget Terminal crash has nothing left of payouts, donations
By Joyce Lim, The Sunday Times, 8 Jun 2014
By Joyce Lim, The Sunday Times, 8 Jun 2014
Madam Pusparani Mohan, 34, is now looking for work in Singapore to support her four young children back in Johor Baru.
"I made a mistake. People knew I had so much money and they all came to me. I am so stupid. I never buy house and finished all the money meant for my children," Madam Pusparani told The Sunday Times from her home in Skudai.
She gave some of it away to relatives when she returned to her hometown in Kedah, then spent a portion of it on a holiday in Genting Highlands with her family. She also lost a chunk of it to a bad business investment - all in the span of a year.
"Now I don't have enough for my children's future."
On March 17, 2012, her husband, Mr Chandra Mogan Panjanathan, 34, was operating a floor-scrubbing machine outside the terminal when he was hit by a taxi hijacked by a Chinese national.
The driver is now serving his jail sentence of two years and one month for voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery.
Donations poured in after the tragic accident was reported in the media. Many sympathised with Madam Pusparani, who was also working as a cleaning supervisor at the airport, for having to raise four children by herself.
The Malaysian couple's youngest daughter was barely three months old then. Today, their children are aged two, seven, 10 and 11.
Changi Airport Group (CAG) helped to collect donations after it received calls from members of the public wanting to help. Madam Pusparani said she is not clear how much was collected, but thinks it could be about $800,000. She also received over $100,000 in insurance payouts, she said.
"The CAG financial adviser advised me to divide the money between myself and my four children. After allocating $200,000 to each of my four children, I was left with $150,000," she said.
"The CAG financial adviser advised me to divide the money between myself and my four children. After allocating $200,000 to each of my four children, I was left with $150,000," she said.
She took that $150,000 home to Johor Baru, quitting her job in Singapore, to take care of her children.
A CAG spokesman told The Sunday Times the CAG had arranged for a family counsellor for Madam Pusparani and had also engaged a financial services adviser to help her with the money she received, including setting up an annuity plan for her children.
"I was told not to touch my children's money as it was meant for their future," she said, adding that the financial adviser also suggested she could use the remaining money to set up a small business in Malaysia.
But the money proved too much for Madam Pusparani to manage on her own.
She said she first had to pay off debts of $50,000 - the couple, who made $2,000 a month jointly, had borrowed money from friends to make ends meet.
Then, she decided to invest the remaining $100,000 in her brother's transport business in Kuala Lumpur, thinking it would give her a stable income.
"But I was told the money was only enough to buy one lorry and we needed three lorries. So, I withdrew half of my children's money, which was about $400,000, to buy two more lorries."
Madam Pusparani said CAG was unaware of the withdrawal as the money was kept in an account under her name.
"I was thinking I could put the money back later," said Madam Pusparani, her voice shaking.
The business did make money in the first three months, said Madam Pusparani, who has a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, the equivalent of an O-level certificate, and who took up accounting as she wanted to manage the business herself.
But in the fourth month, the widow was told that the company was losing money. She said she fell out with her brother eventually and did not recover any of her investment.
Her younger brother, Mr Magan Mohan, 32, a technician, said she blamed the family for encouraging her to invest in the business. Mr Magan said his elder brother's business has since folded.
"Some people think my sister gambled away the money, but she never gambles or drinks. She just got into the wrong business."
In January last year, Madam Pusparani took out the rest of the money meant for her children.
She had no choice, she said.
"I never work, but I have to eat. I also need to take care of my parents. I was living with them and I had to pay for the monthly rental which was about RM1,000. My baby is still young and needs money for milk and pampers," said Madam Pusparani, agitatedly.
"My expenses came up to RM5,000 to RM6,000. Where do I find the money?"
That last $400,000 she withdrew lasted her five months.
By May last year, she was broke.
"I also don't know how I finished (using) the money," she said.
A friend got her a job as an accounts clerk in Johor Baru, earning RM2,000 (S$780) a month.
Today, her employer pays her rent for an old, double-storey terraced house, which her family of five live in. A huge portrait of the late Mr Chandra is the only thing adorning the empty living area. Her children's shoes are torn and worn out; so too are their schoolbags.
The family sleeps on two old mattresses in one of three rooms on the second storey. Clothes are piled up on the floor as they cannot afford a cupboard to keep them in.
"I cannot survive with RM2,000 a month. I am thinking of going to work in Singapore. But I feel ashamed," said Madam Pusparani tearfully.
"I don't know how to explain to the people who donated money to me and my children."
HOW THE MONEY WAS WHITTLED AWAY
March 17, 2012: Cleaning supervisor Chandra Mogan Panjanathan, 34, was killed after a hijacked taxi rammed into him outside Changi Airport's Budget Terminal.
May 2012: Close to $1 million came in through donations and insurance payouts for Madam Pusparani Mohan and her four children, who were then aged 21/2 months, five, eight and nine years old.
In the same month, Madam Pusparani, then 32, quit her job as a cleaning supervisor at Changi Airport.
She withdrew $150,000 from the money she received, and returned to Malaysia. The rest of it was kept with an insurance company in Singapore, meant for her children.
September 2012: Madam Pusparani returned to Singapore to withdraw half of the $800,000 in the account. She invested the money in her brother's transport business, which failed after six months.
January 2013: Madam Pusparani returned to Singapore to withdraw the remaining $400,000 for her living expenses.
May 2013: She said she is left with only $50 in her account in Singapore.
June 2014: Now an accounts clerk in Johor Baru, she wants to look for a job in Singapore so she can earn more.
March 17, 2012: Cleaning supervisor Chandra Mogan Panjanathan, 34, was killed after a hijacked taxi rammed into him outside Changi Airport's Budget Terminal.
May 2012: Close to $1 million came in through donations and insurance payouts for Madam Pusparani Mohan and her four children, who were then aged 21/2 months, five, eight and nine years old.
In the same month, Madam Pusparani, then 32, quit her job as a cleaning supervisor at Changi Airport.
She withdrew $150,000 from the money she received, and returned to Malaysia. The rest of it was kept with an insurance company in Singapore, meant for her children.
September 2012: Madam Pusparani returned to Singapore to withdraw half of the $800,000 in the account. She invested the money in her brother's transport business, which failed after six months.
January 2013: Madam Pusparani returned to Singapore to withdraw the remaining $400,000 for her living expenses.
May 2013: She said she is left with only $50 in her account in Singapore.
June 2014: Now an accounts clerk in Johor Baru, she wants to look for a job in Singapore so she can earn more.
Disbelief and anger over 'squandered' donations
$1 million all gone? Many demanded to know spending details of cleaner's widow
By Joyce Lim, The Straits Times, 10 Jun 2014
$1 million all gone? Many demanded to know spending details of cleaner's widow
By Joyce Lim, The Straits Times, 10 Jun 2014
But that sympathy turned to anger two days ago, after The Sunday Times reported how Madam Pusparani Mohan, 34, had run through close to $1 million received in donations and insurance payouts in a year.
The story reached about 1.1 million readers on social media, and was shared, liked or commented on 139,000 times, a record for a story in this newspaper.
Many readers were shocked and angry at how quickly the $1 million had been squandered, and demanded to know details of Madam Pusparani's spending.
Some accused her of being irresponsible for cashing in her children's insurance policies, while others felt she was trying to gain sympathy and more money by telling a sob story.
On March 17, 2012, Madam Pusparani's husband Chandra Mogan Panjanathan, 34, was killed after he was hit by a taxi while operating a cleaning machine outside Changi Airport's Budget Terminal. The Chinese national who hijacked the taxi is in jail.
His death left Madam Pusparani, a cleaning supervisor, with four young children to raise, one of whom was two months old.
A donor told The Straits Times he had given money as he felt sorry for the children. "I am very angry she did not do what was right in the interest of the children... A decent terraced (house) in Johor can cost less than RM500,000 (S$195,000). She should have bought it. That should have been the first priority."
Mr Vignesh K. R., 40, who contacted the paper to offer advice to Madam Pusparani, said he had met many people who were overwhelmed when they were suddenly given a huge sum of money.
"They would try to figure out how to use it, like go for a holiday or invest in a business. But very often, they don't keep track of how much money they still have in the bank, and before they realise it, they are left with their last dollar," said the treasurer with the Microfinance Society (Singapore).
Madam Pusparani said Changi Airport Group had engaged a financial adviser to help her manage the donations. She invested about $800,000 in insurance policies for her four children - then aged two months, five, eight and nine. But a reliable source confirmed she later cancelled those policies and withdrew the money.
About $500,000 went into a failed transport business started by her brother, while the remaining half had been used up by May last year.
Though The Straits Times probed her repeatedly up until yesterday, on how she could have spent $400,000 in five months, she said in a phone interview from Malaysia: "I really don't know how I used up the money. I am sorry it's all gone. I am not asking for more money. I just want to be honest about it. What I need now is a job in Singapore.
"I read the story and comments online. I feel very sad. It is true I don't know how to manage the money. I am ashamed. It's a lesson learnt and I want to start afresh. I hope people don't judge me too quickly."
When contacted, Madam Pusparani's former employer Campaign Complete Solutions said the company would consider hiring her should there be a job opening.
"She was with the company for barely three months when her husband was killed. At that time, she was working as a cleaning supervisor. We will consider hiring her since she has experience in this job," said human resource manager Elsie Teo.
Education key to preventing financial mismanagement
WHILE it was distressing to read about the widow's story ("$1m gone in a year: Widow is now broke"; Sunday and "Disbelief and anger over 'squandered' donations"; Tuesday), it is hardly surprising.
Working in the financial services industry, FinCare has come across people who come into "sudden wealth" (either through insurance payouts and/or inheritance). As part of community work, we have also counselled many who have mismanaged monies entrusted to them or money they borrowed.
The ability to handle finances has a lot less to do with age than with "financial intelligence". We have counselled those in their 60s and 70s who are deep in debt; we have also met teenagers who are financially very savvy.
The best way to avoid or correct financial mismanagement is financial literacy/education and counselling.
Singaporeans are a compassionate lot easily moved by publicised plights of those in need. A process should be put in place to "steward" donations that may result from such publicity.
This may include setting up a structure to receive and administer resources, the appointment of financial advisers and most importantly, some level of financial education and financial or psychological counselling.
I hope this episode will not dampen the generous spirit of Singaporeans but be an opportunity to learn the best way to help those truly in need.
Bernard Lim Hup Seng
Head
Financial Counselling, Aid and Resilience Education (FinCare)
ST Forum, 12 Jun 2014
Head
Financial Counselling, Aid and Resilience Education (FinCare)
ST Forum, 12 Jun 2014
FORUM NOTE: FinCare is the community service initiative of the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS)
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