Wednesday, April 2, 2008

I'm Off to Jail for Two Years

Today I received a legal notice in the mail from the electric company that said, among other things, "On account of dishonour of cheque . . . it is evident that you dishonestly and intentionally issued the aforesaid cheque with a knowledge that the said cheque would not be honoured on presentation. For the above acts, you have made yourself liable to be prosecuted. . . and liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to twice the amount of the cheque or with both."

In short, I bounced a check. Gotta love the hyperbole.

The amazing thing is that if I cough up the cash within 15 days, this grave and serious error will cost me a mere 200 rupees--around $5! Not bad for intentional dishonesty and fraud. I guess in India nobody ever bounces a check by accident. But I can handle the accusatory tone with that price tag!

2 comments:

Aby Runyan said...

Phew! That was a close call! Let me know if you decide to NOT pay that bill and have a 2 year Indian Jail vacation, I may join you. Sometimes I think maybe if I went to jail I could catch up on all my unfinished projects. But then I remember about the whole jail being horrible thing.
luvs, aby

Alonso Family said...

that is hilarious that they come right out and say that you were being intentionally dishonest...well i never!