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Casino, Monk and the Judgment of Capitalist Court

[Will social judgment be different for the same case? It is perfectly alright when we only consider profit and loss and the commercial law. This is really a rich man game.]
This is an interesting case and also a reflection of our value judgment under our capitalist and pro-business environment.

To cut it short, here is the brief story#:

Ø A businessman regularly seeks advices, including gambling advice, from a monk.

Ø The monk then introduced a casino business in Cambodia to the businessman.

Ø The businessmen agreed and handled over US$1 million to the monk.

Ø The monk handed the same to Businessman B for the casino deal.

Ø After pocketed the US$1 million, Businessman B disappeared and so the casino investment went down the drain.

Ø The businessman sued the monk for losses.

Ø The Court said the businessman should sue Businessman B as he took away the money.

Ø The businessman lost the case and is now considering an appeal.

Ø Despite winning the case, the monk also suffered loss in donation money, more than $4 million over 3.5 years.

So, who is the winner? Is it Businessman B? Perhaps, yes, he is now US$ 1 million richer. However, Businessman B claimed he did not receive the money.

(The winners are also the general public who get to read this unusual story. Of course, the newspapers also profit from increased copy sales.)  

Who are the losers?  The businessman lost US$1 million plus legal and court fees. The monk also lost S$4 million donation money. 

Can donation money be considered as income? Yes, by this definition, a loss in income is a loss in revenue.  The monk has expenses to pay but with less revenue, he suffered loss of more $1 million per year.  

So, the monk is considering his temple a business setup. A business with a running cost of $1 million per year is really not a small business.  In GST definition, the business will need to register with the tax department.

No wonder, religion is a big business in Singapore.   It is not surprising some religion activities are multi-million businesses. And so they care not only profit and loss, but also how to invest the multi-million revenue.


# read more about the case from the following links:

http://wanbao.omy.sg/local/story20131025-14837

http://news.omy.sg/News/Local-News/140Mo-Shi-Xin-An-Miao-Zhi-Fa-Shi-Sheng-Su-215139

http://www.tnp.sg/content/monk-sued-over-casino-deal


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/hearing-for-lawsuit-filed/784012.html
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