You’ve heard of children stealing from their parents but have you heard of parents who steal from their children?
Okay, maybe once when this iconic anti-gambling advertisement gained popularity back in the days.
But seriously, children under the age of 21 need an adult’s approval for almost anything in Singapore at least.
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From school activities (i.e. camps, overseas trips) to making important medical and life decisions, parental consent is required because these kids are deemed as vulnerable and require protection from someone more experienced to act in the child’s best interests.
Unfortunately, some parents let their own interests cloud their judgement.
A man spent his son’s medical fund on personal interests
According to Mirror UK, an unemployed father of 2 in Salvador, Brazil splurged more than £130K (approximately S$218,429.76) meant for his toddler’s costly medical treatment on alcohol, drugs and prostitutes.
Friends and family had helped to raise a total of £216K (S$362,929.45) through a year of crowdfunding campaigns (i.e. online appeals, auctions and donations).
It clearly landed in the wrong hands.
Toddler Suffers From Rare Disease
The man in question, Mateus Alves is a father to a 19-month-old toddler named João Miguel.
The 19-month-old reportedly suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare degenerative neuro-muscular disease.
According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, SMA affects the part of the nervous system which controls voluntary muscle movement.
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The nerve cells which control muscles are primarily located at the spinal cord. The thing with inactive muscles is that they’ll gradually shrink which is what’s happening to poor João.
Each dose of medicine costs up to £81,000
To save João, the plan was for Alves to purchase three doses of Spinraza (also known as Nusinersen), the first approved drug to treat his son’s disorder.
João required six rounds of the drug injected near his spinal cord.
Which is now a problem because each dose costs up to up to £81,000 (estimated sum of S$136,163.38).
However, more than half of the funds raised for that purpose is gone, and now, it is uncertain what will happen to the 19-month-old.
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The man was eventually arrested by Police
Fortunately, the Police managed to catch 37-year-old Alves on 22 July (Monday) at a local five-star beachfront hotel where he had allegedly been hiding lavishly for more than a month.
According to the Police chief, the 37-year-old claimed that he had “spent the money bingeing on women, drinks and drugs” during his arrest.
To make things worse, Investigators revealed that there were indications that he had plans to open a brothel in the city with a female business partner.
It was reported that Alves had allegedly spent £10,800 (about S$18,152.42) on recruiting women.
Mirror UK reported that the funds meant for their younger son was split into four savings accounts with Alves and his wife, Karine overseeing two accounts each. Upon hearing news of her husband’s behaviour, the housewife was undoubtedly overcome with disappointment.
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The outcome
37-year-old Alves has been charged for fraud.
He had tricked people into donating money to his son and using it for another purpose.
In addition, he will be dealt with accordingly for abandoning his wife and two children. As a result, he could be charged with up to five years per penalty.
As for his toddler, many locals as well as Premier League goalkeeper, Victor Bagy chipped in to save the 19-month-old toddler.
We sure hope João will be strong enough to pull through and kick his dad’s ass in future!
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