Journey 23
I receive an email from Mayen on the Friday - now a whole week since she was admitted to hospital. The email was physically written by Marivien, using Mayen's email account. No - I didn't send them my address.
August 18,2007
Timmy,
Im worry free now knowing that you're alright. Marivien told me that you left an
offline messages to her.
All i can say is that i have to wait for office days coz the admin of the
hospital is off during saturdays and sundays and this coming monday i doubt if they have o office because its holiday. I tried my best to talked to them but i do nothing.
Timmy the main reason why i never do it the other day because i thought that you
have verified it already.
You are the one who sent me the SMS and you told also that you will come this
wednesday.
I was expecting you but even your shadow never came. Now you are claiming that
your an honourable man, so tell me where is your word of honor.
I have here all the receipts and invoices they are all numbered and legitimate. I
will send it to you through DHL or fast pak.
This is the least i could do while waiting for the office day to open.So please
give me your address.
Timmy, why is this happening to us? Why you let this happen? Why you let other
people motivate you instead of yourself?
Try to examine yourself. No doubt why your not happy with your married life, this
is because you are weak and coward.
Sorry to tell you this but i have to. Now please dont do it to us,dont do it to
our love and to our relationship.
This is the time i needed you most and the time to prove how strong we are. I
want you to be strong and brave.
You are the one who told that we will work as a team. So, where is it now? We
promised we will be honest and respect each other and we will trust,now where is it? Timmyboy, I let you enter my life, open my world to you.
We had a good memories during your first visit. I introduced to you to my family
and to my friends and collegues for you to know me more. I want you to remember them all as i reminisce them. Please dont be blind, dont be deaf, we are destined to be happy the both of us. Why you let yourself live insuspicions and doubts? Are you happy with it?
I swear to God and to the angels in heaven I never lie to you. And Im always be
your bukobaby. I want forget you. All my life i will remember you the scar in my tummy during the operation reminds me of you and to our first angel.
I still love you and trying to understand you. I never change my timmyboy. I hope
it will end well.
Thanks to Marivien the bearer.
Love,
Mayen
I wrote an email to Sir Francis at two of his email addresses - determined that someone get the message that I needed something legitimate from the hospital. I got the impression that the first "quick scam" had gone seriously wrong from their point of view and they were now busying about trying to procure "fake" evidence - trying to fabricate their innocence - because I knew a lot about these people - and it was now apparant to them that I was not going to give up trying to get to the truth - by any means open to me.
I expect they just wished I would disappear.
Friday 17th August
To Marketing Manager, Tierra Maria Estates.
Dear Sir Francis Jalbuena,
We understand that you have kindly made some monetary deposits on behalf of Mr.Timothy Ellis Cumper.
Please would you supply the following information regarding the recent operation on Ma.Ana Samson Betita to relieve an Ectopic Pregnancy at 7 weeks gestation.
1) The name, licence number & email address of the operating surgeon.
2) The name, licence number & email address of the anesthetiologist.
3) The patient ID number for Ma.Ana Samson Betita.
4) The reasons for the above patient still being detained by the Medical Center
Paranaque.
5) A reason for the above hospital failing to make contact with us via email.
6) An estimation of costs to date 17/08/07.
Thanking you in anticipation of a prompt reply.
Sir Francis replied - forgetting conveniently that at first he had suggested that I could deal with the hospital via email. I noticed that the email had been CC'd to Marivien and Mayen and seems to convey an air of relief to begin with - now that they're sure I'm still in the UK, then Sir Francis sinks his teeth in, with an attempt to get even more money from me - Mayen's "lodgings advance" - which disappears in the 2nd email.
Curiously - my email that Sir Francis refers to, in which he deduces that I am in the UK - said nothing about that whatsoever - but the email for help that I had sent that very morning to the British Embassy in Manila, did mention that I was still in the UK - also it hinted that my phone calls to the hospital were possibly being intercepted. An hour later, I receive this email from Sir Francis.
Notice he suggests that I try contacting the British Embassy in Manila.
18th August 7.22 am
Tim,
I't crossed my mind that something terrible happened to you as the reason for
your not being in contact for several days. [Several days? Where does that come from? I was communicating with Marivien on the 16th - the day after I should have landed.]
As I told you, we were expecting you Wednesday so that you can have a good understanding of the problem you and Mayen got yourselves into. Your email now makes me believe you want to settle your obligations long distance, am I right? [How does he know I'm not in Manila? Has he checked my IP address?]
Anyway, the first thing I want to do is to advise you that the Philippines is a
third world country so don't expect things to be done here as efficiently as they are done in the UK.
As per the requests you have enumerated, I have dispatched Vien again to the
hospital for the nth time to get your requests no. 1 to 3. [So - he has heard from Marivien, about my requests - but not about my contact?] I had similar requests since last weekend but up to now it seems to have fallen in deaf ears of the hospital staff [a perfect opportunity to tell me that the hospital are refusing to cooperate, because of patient confidentiality, but no - it's because they are deaf] and the ones helping Mayen and Mayen herself- maybe they can't relate to your actuations and it seems that they have fallen into a belief and have faith that you will appear and be the Knight in shining armor helping the lady in distress.
The reason for no. 4 is that nobody here is capable, readily and/or willing to help Mayen pay your obligations and at the same time she has no health insurance- even if she had, her situation will not be covered by the regular health insurance. [I'm not expecting anyone else to pay it - I just want proof from the hospital. So why does he not continue and answer my QUESTION No. 5?]
The nature of her employment does require insurance either and she did not get
one for herself same as in more than 90% of those not covered by local laws for the emloyer to insure their emplyees. Mayen earns on a commission basis and thru my voluntary help was getting food, transpo and lodging allowances.
Mayen has a seaman brother with her now since wednesday in the hospital and I
have advised him to do the ff:
1) transfer to a cheaper room so as to save abt P400/day until problem is
resolved. [This never happened.]
2) Bargain with the doctors about their high fees. [This never happened.]
3) Talk to Hospital about deferring payment of hospital bills and fees against
his future salary
(very hard & long shot to be able to do though). [This never happened.]
I have extended my capacity to help and it has been more than enough.
It seems that I will just have to be the last if ever to be paid even if you and
Mayen get out of this hole you have placed yourselves in.
I doubt if the hospital has the capacity to do business via email or long
distance. [Well they have - as proved later & as he had first suggested. Is that supposed to answer question No 5?]
I have requested Vien to try and find out as I did last thursday- I will also
try again myself and I have talked to Mayen's brother about it.
[Here's the answer to question No 6] I helped Vien email you a running balance of Mayen's hospital balance a few days ago, it will be more or less the same except that P950/day for the room will be added. [What about the cheaper room then?]According to Vien you have acknowledged receipt of this and even inquired about the advances that I have made.
We will again give you a running balance ASAP. It appears to me that you think
the only thing we do is help you with your problems- please be more considerate. On top of my P14,500 advances, Mayen still owes me another P9,000 more or less in cash advances and lodging deposit which she has not yet refunded. If you have intentions of helping, please do it soon. If not, please disappear from our lives and don't create more havoc by giving us false hope.
You have already destroyed the life of Mayen who will be forever scarred in her
life.
Both of you made your bed, it is turning out to be made of nails rather than
roses.
Why don't you instead request the British Embassy to help you.
I have every intention to make them know about the incident if it is not
resolved soon.
************
No answer to my question No 5 - noticeable for its absence - he answers question No 6, but not as identified with the number, amidst all the waffle and distraction where logically, the answer to question No 5 would be.
So - in short - his message contains one flippant sentence about my most urgent request - to deal with the hospital - and even this brief answer is in direct contradiction to advice given earlier in his SMS message - the remainder is defensive, accusative & hostile.
Have I said anything about not paying?
Would I have been able to arrive in time for "emotional support" during the "operation?" No, that was always a physical impossibility, it was an "emergency."
Would I have been expected to fly over, even if my ticket had not already been booked - my trip not been planned suspiciously at this very same time?
There are a lot of significant factors which point at the precise date of the "emergency."
Is not Mayen in the best place for her care - a hospital?
So this is all, entirely about paying the money - which if you remember was supposed to have been done via Western Union.
Am I not entitled to proof, in these circumstances, that it is all legitimate?
And another charming reply from Sir Francis - supposed to be a running balance sent ASAP, but it's simply a copy of the first email from Tierra Maria office.
Sat 18 Aug 2007 03:43 -0700 (PDT)
Tim,
I am forwarding email of Vien to you that she sent Aug. 13, 2007.
As I said, the billings will be the same except for the additional room billings
that accrued due to Mayen's overstay in the hospital. Vien had success in seeing the doctor who will cooperate in sending you requests no. 1 to 3 and the bills accrued by Mayen but by tuesday yet as monday will be a holiday. [That never happened.]
As far as my advances is concerned, you already have the figures I sent you
earlier- It is P14,500 for the hospital alone. I don't know advances made by others but I know the landlady had a few hundred pesos advanced also. I don't want to be brutal about it but consider our celphone conversations ( about 60 minutes) [Ha! 15 minutes, tops - the 1st call was from me to him] my time spent for this incident ( which you can't afford anyway), and the time spent by my people to help Mayen whom I have paid as a blessing.
Again, please settle immediately.
**********
Still nothing about why I cannot deal directly with the hospital, and yet they manage to get "details" from the doctors about themselves - that seems odd.
However, on Saturday 18th August 6.28 am I had already sent a first plea for help to the British Embassy in Manila - and received the following reply.
Monday 20th August
Mr. Cumper,
Your email did not state what specific assistance you are seeking from the
British Embassy. If the subject of your request is to help your
girlfriend who is a Philippine national, we are sorry the British Embassy
cannot assist. We suggest you contact the Consular Services of either the
Philippine Embassy in London or the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) in
Manila.
On the Sunday I was starting to lose my patience with the incompetence of these people in the Philippines - apparantly unable to get any legitimate information to me from the hospital - so I sent the following email to Sir Francis - subject - Time Is Up - and attached a really long list of Philippine Government Agencies, some email addresses of his business associates - indicating that I was about to start sending out emails to these people - outlining my suspicions.
They were also aware that the whole story was being written up and publicly displayed on my MySpace blog - I had sent them all the URL.
After this email was sent - things started to move a little - I started to get some results - all be it undoubtedly fake, fabricated material to try and throw me off the scent of their fraud.
Dear Sir Francis,
This intolerable situation has gone on long enough.
I find complete incompetence in complying with my simple requests to instruct the hospital to communicate directly with me via email about this matter.
For all your sympathy for Mayen it has not amounted to a single jot of real help.
I receive emails that are solely intent on extorting money - there is absolutely no genuine concern for poor Mayen.
I receive emails with cowardly veiled threats - which I suppose is about as far as you dare go.
I have access to the following - via direct email contact - despite the Philippines being, as you say, a third world country.
Perhaps someone, one honest, caring soul among them, may take a grasp of the situation and show me some action.
I resort to contacting them directly because they are apparantly unknown to you.
On Monday 20th Sir Francis replies with -
??? What do you want me to do? Your problem with Mayen can only be solved by yourself and her. I have advanced money, I have requested the hospital to get directly in touch with you, Vien and myself have given you all the facts of the case, I don't understand this particular email.
You said you were coming and you did not. Your best bet is to get in touch with the doctor to help you. I am not in a position to help you any further.
On Sunday 19th August I receive the following information from Sir Francis - and reply to him that I am dealing with it urgently.
Tim,
Hereunder are the answers to your first three requests:
1) Dra. Leonor Leonardo, physician no.******, CP **********, email- *****@*******
2) Dr. Reynaldo S. Dizon, anesthesiologist *****, email- *****@******
3) Ma. Ana Samson Betita, patient no. 51546-2007
Dra. Leonardo, per Vien and Mayen is the main cooperator to your requirements (I understand she was the source of above answers) and is willing to help facilitate your requests 6 and maybe give more answers to your questions 4 & 5. I'm copy furnishing both doctors with your email and this reply of mine.
We discover that the two doctors named appear to be resident at the Medical Center Paranaque - on the hospital website it is possible to access a further page of details for a few names on the list.
Seeing as we were being pointed towards Dr Leonardo - we decided to write to Dr Dizon - another reason for this was that we discovered an alternative email address for Dr Dizon - so the plan was to send our email to the address provided by Sir Francis and ask for confirmation using the email address that we had found.
A good plan - but the confirmation email was bounced back - failed to deliver.
We sent the same list of questions to Dr Leonardo - but have never had a reply - and no failure to deliver message either.
I have written to her again since - still no reply.
Dr Dizon did reply however - although, in our opinion, very unprofessionally - and a lot of the questions we asked were left unanswered.
It is very strange if (as suggested by one commentator) Dr Leonardo didn't get her own, current email address correct - as she was the person who allegedly supplied the information - "the main cooperator to your requirements" - as Sir Francis puts it.
Sunday 19th August
Dear Dr. Reynaldo S. Dizon,
My name is Tim Cumper - I understand that you will be expecting an enquiry from me regarding the operation for an Ectopic Pregnancy at 7 weeks gestation - which was performed at the Medical Center Paranaque on Friday 10th August at some time in the afternoon.
I am being held responsible for paying the patient's bill.
I am more than willing to meet my obligation in this matter.
However because of the very strange procrastination that has been taking place around the method of payment I am suspecting that I have become involved in an organised fraud.
My reasons for writing to you are to ask you please to confirm the following information.
* You are Dr. Reynaldo S. Dizon.
* Your licence number is 57066.
* You were the anesthesiologist for the above operation.
* You have submitted an invoice for your work and the amount corresponds with that shown below.
* Would you please transmit to us a copy of the above invoice?
* You assisted Dra. Leonor Leonardo as the operating surgeon for the above.
* The patient's name was Ma.Ana Samson Betita.
* By which name is the patient referred to by her friends?
* The patient's Hospital ID number is 51546-2007.
* The patient is still being detained in the hospital subject to her hospital bill being paid.
* Is the patient being detained for any other reason?
* Why has the hospital not yet contacted me at all?
* Which surgical or medical procedure was used in the operation? eg. Laporoscopy etc.
* Had the Fallopian Tube ruptured?
* From the patient's perspective - was it the left or the right Fallopian?
* What is your relationship to Francis M. Jalbuena?
* Could you provide an estimate of costs to the present time?
Please can I stress the urgent nature of these enquiries and humbly ask you for a rapid reply.
Thanking you kindly in anticipation.
Yours sincerely.
Mr Timothy Ellis Cumper
UK
His reply arrived promptly on Monday 20th August - this is all that was said.
Yes,I am the anesthesiologist of Ma.Ana Samson Betita.She was brought to the operating room in severe pain.She was sedated and was given analgesics thru IV.Inducted under regional anesthesia at around 3:45 pm with nurse E.Caballero as surgical nurse and N.Orobia as instrument nurse.On opening up,hemoperitoneum(blood in the peritoneal cavity)more than a liter was suctioned.Operative findigs was ruptured ampulla of the Left fallopian tube.Operation ended at around 4:50 pm.Patient tolerated the procedure well.
Perfectly anonymous and non-incriminating. The IP address for this email came from an untraceable source - named only "Blackhole."As stated before, a litre of blood is a considerable amount.
Ruptures of the ampullary section of the fallopian tube are generally between 8 to 12 weeks gestation. This was six weeks, six days - very early. Anyone can find the sort of information quoted in the email on the Internet, almost word for word. CLICK HERE.
Still nothing resembling official, authoritative proof had arrived.
On 20th August - I sent TME (Sir Francis, Mayen & Marivien) an email each, revealing the URL of the story at MySpace.
Click the flags to read about all the alarm bells.
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