BISHA: The Filipina nurse ordered by a court in Bisha to repay SR720,000 to a trader in Sawa prepaid mobile telephone cards has told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that naivety led her to pursing “rapid wealth”. “I didn't expect to be cheated by fellow Filipinos,” said the physiotherapist employed at King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha. The nurse, who was allowed to return to work and ordered by the court to repay the money by May 17, said that she worked jointly in the sale of telephone cards with a fellow Filipina nurse. She said the latter was responsible for collecting monies owed by clients, but was unfortunately diagnosed with a serious tumor and is currently interned at the hospital where they are employed. It then proved difficult for her to collect owed money, she said, while some clients left the country without paying. She now faces prison if she does not repay the full amount by the deadline. “I came to the Kingdom eight years ago and worked for two months in Al-Hofouf before transferring to Bisha,” she told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “I was a Christian, but then embraced Islam five years ago. I started selling telephone cards through my friend, a nurse at the same hospital, and we would get the cards from the source and sell them on to clients on credit. At the end of the month we'd collect the money from the people that owed it to us.” The system failed when her friend was diagnosed with a tumor and some clients left the country without paying their debts. “I've tried to find the ones who cheated me and went back to the Philippines, but they don't answer my calls, but I will take them to court when I go back,” she said. “Some people are still paying back what they owe me, but I still owe more than 700,000 riyals. Family and friends in the Philippines, Australia and Canada are trying to get money together to help me.” She said she is determined to pay the money she owes back. “But it will need time for me to get the money together. If I don't pay it, I'll go to prison.”
