The police inspector scratched his head. He was baffled. Who would have thought that such a benevolent person would still exist in this mercenary society? Piles of fifty dollar notes, each amounting to eight hundred dollars, have been appearing in the men's toilets in government office buildings on every Friday for the past few months.
It was very intriguing indeed. Why would anyone do that? Could it be an eccentric rich man who wished to fulfill his childhood dream of being Santa Claus? Then again, it could also be the work of a madman who has escaped from a mental hospital. Whoever the benefactor was, he was intent on keeping his identity anonymous. The enigmatic donor had deliberately left the money in an open area where it would easily be spotted. Each pile of notes was also accompanied by a one page letter neatly written with a fountain pen. "Please use this money wisely to learn something for your own self-enrichment," the benefactor implored the finder.
With this vital clue, the police inspector engaged a handwriting specialist who attested that all the past twelve letters were written by the same person. The graphologist made a conjecture and mused, "Hmmm... based on the choice of words used, the mysterious Santa Claus should be a retiree in his sixties and someone who is affluent. From the brush strokes, we can also deduce that the benefactor was a fastidious and careful person."
Working on these traces of evidence, Inspector dug out all the files of long-serving civil servants who were recently awarded with their pensions. He then narrowed down his search to three pensioners who could be the mysterious Santa Claus? The highest possibility seemed to be the man named Mr. Tay. Without hesitation, the man was brought to the police station for investigation. After lengthy questioning, the old man finally conceded that he was the benefactor.
Mr Tay revealed that he had merely wanted to repay society in some way. He was grateful to the government for engaging his services for the past forty years and wanted to used this pension in a meaningful way to help other civil servants. He also confessed that he felt a sense of thrill when he learnt that his actions have caused the entire nation to agog.
The police Inspector gave a stern warning to Mr Tay. "You may be acting as a philanthropist by leaving piles of money behind, but you also wanted our time and resources for the past few months, trying to unearth your identity." The old man apologised for his perplexing action and promised to make his identity known if he wanted to make a donation ever again.
