http://www.soshiok.com/articles/12684
Top-grade durians for steal
Thu Apr 30 2009
Geraldine Yeo
The New Paper .Woman, 75, talked into paying $60 for 2 durians that turned out be unripe.
Singapore, April 30, 2009 - Top-grade durians for a steal.
But instead, two elderly women ended up with poor-quality fruits that they had to throw away.
The two women living at Block 32, Eunos Crescent, claimed that they were conned into buying bad ones on 18 Apr by a man and woman claiming to be Malaysians.
Lianhe Wanbao also reported last week that there was a third victim in the same block - also an old lady. She had bought four durians, but it is not known how much she paid.
The New Paper spoke to two victims.
Madam Jamilah, 75, said on that day two strangers - a man and a woman - knocked on her door.
She lives alone in her two-room flat on the seventh storey.
The man looked to be in her 30s and the woman in her 50s.
Madam Jamilah said: 'They said they were from Segamat, Johor, and were selling durians that were picked there that morning.
'They also claimed they were of top quality and were selling for $7 per kg.'
The duo wanted to sell four for $100, she added.
She said that she normally do not pay that much for durians of the same size, but gave in when they told her the fruits were of the highest grade.
As proof of quality, Madam Jamilah said the sellers cut open a small portion of husk to let her see.
Because of her poor eyesight and back problems, she couldn't take a good look.
She said: 'The man also didn't allow me to touch it.'
Afraid of offending the sellers, Madam Jamilah said she decided to buy the durians.
When she told them she had only $60, they agreed to sell her two durians.
It was only two hours later when two social workers came to her house to help her open the durians that she discovered that she had been cheated. The flesh was white and unripe.
Said Madam Jamilah, who claims she gets just $350 a month in government financial assistance: 'My heart aches when I think of the money that I have lost.'
Another victim
On the 14th storey, a housewife in her 50s, had earlier fallen victim to the durian sellers.
The woman, who gave her name only as Madam Quah, was at her mother's two-room flat that day when the sellers came knocking.
Her description of the duo matched Madam Jamilah's.
'They told me the durians were of Mao Shan Wang (cat mountain king) quality,' she said.
They are said to be of better grade than normal ones and can cost up to $15 per kg.
Madam Quah said: 'The man was eager to sell them. But I told him I wanted only one.
'He said they were fresh, but added that I should open it only at night when it would be ripe.'
She ended up paying $44 for one big and one small durian. She said the man snatched the money from her hands.
That was when Madam Quah got suspicious.
After the sellers left, she opened the durians and discovered they 'did not give out the fragrance that Mao Shan Wang durians should have'.
So she decided to find the sellers to exchange the durians. She saw a Malaysian-registered van at the foot of the block and waited for them there.
When they appeared minutes later, Madam Quah said the man appeared flustered.
'He chided me for opening the durian so soon,' she said. 'He then got into van and drove off with the woman.'
Both she and Madam Jamilah said they did not report the matter to the police as they did not lose much money, but they wanted to warn the public
Top-grade durians for steal
Thu Apr 30 2009
Geraldine Yeo
The New Paper .Woman, 75, talked into paying $60 for 2 durians that turned out be unripe.
Singapore, April 30, 2009 - Top-grade durians for a steal.
But instead, two elderly women ended up with poor-quality fruits that they had to throw away.
The two women living at Block 32, Eunos Crescent, claimed that they were conned into buying bad ones on 18 Apr by a man and woman claiming to be Malaysians.
Lianhe Wanbao also reported last week that there was a third victim in the same block - also an old lady. She had bought four durians, but it is not known how much she paid.
The New Paper spoke to two victims.
Madam Jamilah, 75, said on that day two strangers - a man and a woman - knocked on her door.
She lives alone in her two-room flat on the seventh storey.
The man looked to be in her 30s and the woman in her 50s.
Madam Jamilah said: 'They said they were from Segamat, Johor, and were selling durians that were picked there that morning.
'They also claimed they were of top quality and were selling for $7 per kg.'
The duo wanted to sell four for $100, she added.
She said that she normally do not pay that much for durians of the same size, but gave in when they told her the fruits were of the highest grade.
As proof of quality, Madam Jamilah said the sellers cut open a small portion of husk to let her see.
Because of her poor eyesight and back problems, she couldn't take a good look.
She said: 'The man also didn't allow me to touch it.'
Afraid of offending the sellers, Madam Jamilah said she decided to buy the durians.
When she told them she had only $60, they agreed to sell her two durians.
It was only two hours later when two social workers came to her house to help her open the durians that she discovered that she had been cheated. The flesh was white and unripe.
Said Madam Jamilah, who claims she gets just $350 a month in government financial assistance: 'My heart aches when I think of the money that I have lost.'
Another victim
On the 14th storey, a housewife in her 50s, had earlier fallen victim to the durian sellers.
The woman, who gave her name only as Madam Quah, was at her mother's two-room flat that day when the sellers came knocking.
Her description of the duo matched Madam Jamilah's.
'They told me the durians were of Mao Shan Wang (cat mountain king) quality,' she said.
They are said to be of better grade than normal ones and can cost up to $15 per kg.
Madam Quah said: 'The man was eager to sell them. But I told him I wanted only one.
'He said they were fresh, but added that I should open it only at night when it would be ripe.'
She ended up paying $44 for one big and one small durian. She said the man snatched the money from her hands.
That was when Madam Quah got suspicious.
After the sellers left, she opened the durians and discovered they 'did not give out the fragrance that Mao Shan Wang durians should have'.
So she decided to find the sellers to exchange the durians. She saw a Malaysian-registered van at the foot of the block and waited for them there.
When they appeared minutes later, Madam Quah said the man appeared flustered.
'He chided me for opening the durian so soon,' she said. 'He then got into van and drove off with the woman.'
Both she and Madam Jamilah said they did not report the matter to the police as they did not lose much money, but they wanted to warn the public
