Reading the update on TBH inquest with the title DNA identified , where counsel Abd Razak representing macc was holding a watching brief , telling TBH's brother Meng Kee that the deceased earned RM1,800 per month and was in a rush to get married as his girlfriend ( wife to be ) was pregnant. He even goes to the length at suggesting that a Chinese wedding cost a lot of money and from this tone , I gather that he is trying to imply the state of how TBH was in before his death and probably hinting that the deceased is in a stressed mode and suicidal , thus suicide attempt is not only not a surprise but highly likely. Well , I am in no position to challenge that but what I want to enlighten counsel abd razak which he should know or may not know , being a malay , how a much a Chineses wedding cost.
Well , if I give the estimate of my own wedding , it may not apply as it is more than 20 years ago but I may quote my nephew's wedding which happened just a few months ago , somewhere in May 2009 and the function is held in JB , not a cheap and low cost city , mind you. He did not spend a single sen on Video because I did it for him for free , albeit with amateur standard but a professional standard do not cost more than RM2,000 on the average. Video is not a must but having it if can afford will leave sweet memories for the loving couple. Then comes to photography , my guess is that it will not cost more than RM5,000 with normal standard and all gowns and suits provided , one set for the wedding ceremony proper and two sets for dinner time. These adds up to RM7,000 now. Let's take a table of 8 course dinner to the estimate of RM500 per table and with the total of 20 tables , it will add upto RM1000 and now plus other monies for Ang Pow etc etc , it will add upto the estimates of RM20,000 , more or less as what was quoted by Meng Kee , TBH's brother.
For a malay like macc counsel abd razak , he do not know that Chinese wedding may cost a stake or fortune , but the payback is not little either , meaning when the host invites their friends and guest , Ang Pows collected can sometime payback all expenses incurred , at least for the course dinner , if not exceeding enough to cover other expenditures. If the guest or friends are "big kaki" , meaning some individual of public tanding and well known in society , the Ang Pow would be bigger and is usually in the denomination above RM100 to RM1,000. Taking the estimates of 70% show up , 20 tables with 8 to 10 sittings , each table will be able to collect the average return of at least RM400 to RM500 or more and this is more than enough to cover the course dinner for each table. When it comes to Chinese wedding , the guest are usually generous and with the habit of not wanting to be labelled as stingy , they will ensure that their Ang Pow is at least reasonable to cover a minimum of the cost it will incur for his fair bit of share and it is always the practise that they write their names on the Red Packet to inform the host who has given or not , unlike the other weddings. If the guess Ang Pow is big , the names written would be bigger.
For this , my dear counsel abd razak , if you attempt in any mean to say that TBH could be suicidal due to the stress on his financial situation and the urgent need to get married , YOU ARE WRONG and you have picked the wrong justification. Even if the total amount collected from the ANG POWs , which usually covers at least 50% ( being very conservative already ) and above , at worst , TBH would need to seek a fund of RM10,000 which he would not have any problem securing a personal loan from any institution , assuming he got no other source of fund and no savings. At most , he only got to pay the average of RM250 per month for say 5 to 6 years and that will easily take care of his so called "tight financial" situation that could be the argument of his suicidal trait. Now , counsel abd razak , please go find other argument that is more convincing to attempt any implication on the suicidal trait on the deceased side but not this costly Chinese Wedding arguments.
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