5th May 2002 - Old Lady Fooled by Conman

At a provision shop along Mama Street, an old lady was cheated of exactly $0.05 cents. She was deeply upset about the incident. With the recent GST hike from 3% - 5%, the government has announced that the GST increase would only take effect from January 2003 next year. However, the cunning shop owner made use of ignorance to his advantage. "I was planning to buy a 5-packs-in-one-packet of Needsome instant noodles and the original price before GST was $2.50. With the old 3%, it would have costed $2.58. But with the new 5%, it would cost me $2.63. That would be a drastic increase of 5 cents." According to sources, the old lady seldom read the papers as she had bad eyesight and found it a chore to read them because she did not have glasses. "My husband died early. My eyes are bad. And I have to rely only on what the government gives me. Yet, this heartless man dares to cheat me of my money?! You know how much 5 cents is worth? It is worth a plate of rice ok? It is also worth a sack of potatoes!" The old lady was suffering from the Old-Golden Days syndrome which is believed to render the affected person's thoughts such that they believe that they are in the past. However, authorities have still classified this as a crime as shop owners are not supposed to sell their goods at the new tax rate until next year. The shop owner will be charged in court and is expected to be required to pay the old lady $5000 in damages.