How far would you go in the name of love? A man in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta went as far as selling furniture and the roof of his family home to fulfill his girlfriend’s wishes, eventually prompting his mother to report him to the authorities.
The son in question, identified as 24-year-old DRS, works as a motorcycle taxi/delivery driver (locally known as ojol). He said he typically makes around IDR50,000 to IDR100,000 daily (US$3.50-US$7), which gives little leeway for romantic expenditures.
DRS said he began selling pieces of furniture from their family home in mid-October, and had only stopped when she caught him preparing to sell corrugated roofing sheets he had removed from the house earlier this month.
His mother, 53-year-old Paliyem, has been working hard as a household assistant to put the roof (literally) over their heads, as well as to pay off a bank loan. As the mother is a live-in assistant where she works, DRS mostly had the house to himself.
“I used [the money from the furniture sales] for my daily meals, same with my girlfriend. I have a girlfriend, she lives in Ngawi, East Java,” DRS said.
The couple met when the girlfriend ordered a ride around a month ago in Yogyakarta and DRS happened to be her driver. The relationship may be young, but DRS appears to be pretty drunk in love and absolutely willing to do anything for her.
“I gave things to her directly, sometimes it’s food, sometimes a bag and clothes. I did it because of love,” he said
With DRS having made an estimated IDR24 million (US$1,680) from the sales, Paliyem decided to report her son to authorities, hoping he will learn from his mistakes.
Pundong sub-precinct’s crime investigation unit chief said that the discreet sales of the household’s essential items started not too long after DRS’ father passed away.
DRS said his girlfriend is unaware of his current legal troubles. He admitted that he might have continued selling things from his home if he hadn’t been caught, but said he regretted his misdeeds.
“After I contemplated [my actions] in the detention cell, I regret it a lot. I’ve already apologized to my mother. What’s clear is that I have to take responsibility for what I’ve done,” DRS said.
If Paliyem does not drop the charges against her son, he may face up to five years in prison for theft.
