Sometimes, it takes the reasoning of a child to slap some logic into adults. In a forum letter to The Straits Times, 10-year-old Charmaine Wong Yu Xin proved that age is not a factor when it comes to having common sense.
No, the Primary 5 pupil’s letter wasn’t about Pokémon Go. It was a reply to an earlier one submitted by Sheeba John last week — a complaint about how library fines are more expensive than the borrowed book itself.
The mother had been unhappy that her daughter was penalised with a fine of $31.42 for the late return of two books from Toa Payoh Public Library in December last year. The grouse stemmed from the fact that the books themselves only cost around $16 (she claimed), and the fines cost way more than that. Though the fine was lowered to $25 after an appeal, she remained miffed that it still cost more than the book.
“Now, my children and I have a phobia of borrowing books from public libraries,” she wrote, hoping that the authorities would develop a “proper system for helping library users”.
Hate to break it to you, lady, but that was the proper system that helps library users actually get their fair share of time with books. But hey, don’t take it from us, take it from Charmaine Wong:
“The library hands out fines to encourage borrowers to return books on time.
We should be responsible borrowers. If we want to avoid fines, we should remember to return the books on time.
If I were fined for forgetting to return library books I have borrowed, I would pay it in full. It would serve as a lesson to me to return my books on time in future.”
There. Simple.
