Horst Lukas must have thought all his Christmases had come at once when he received 12 bicycles, four boats, a luxury mobile home and dozens of tickets to rock concerts and football matches. However, the pensioner from Iserlohn in Germany soon realised that something was amiss and sent the goods back from whence they came.

And just as well, as it turned out that a hacker had spent over $621,778 in one night under Lukas’s name on eBay. However, the saga didn’t stop there — Lukas also received dozens of abusive letters and threats after returning the goods. Police are investigating to try and catch the hacker.

A lesson for all

The latest Roll On Friday e-newsletter reiterated just how important it is to proofread documents carefully, several times if necessary, before sending them out — something we at Folklaw are well aware of. The newsletter included a copy of a request for a trial delay on behalf of Miami attorney Martin Sandler, who was recovering after back surgery.

Unfortunately, the document read: “Plaintiff moves the court for a continuance of the trial for the reason that counsel for the plaintiff is recovering from dick surgery and because of continuing pain is unable to properly represent the plaintiff in a trial. Counsel is unable to sit for long periods at a time”. A Freudian slip perhaps, but one that could have been rectified, with just a little more attention to the proof-reading process. Folklaw imagines that in future nothing will leave Sandler’s desk before at least three sets of eyes have gone over it.

Fret no longer

Women lawyers and, in fact, any career-minded woman out there, be warned. An email now doing the rounds is attempting to steer the few remaining eligible bachelors away from your door. Offering a bevy of beautiful Eastern European women, all, of course, who are beautiful, buxom, young and have all their teeth intact, the email asks our languishing men whether they feel bored with “emancipated and feministic Western women”. “Want to meet nice girl who remembers she is not a man? Looking for marriage or romance outside your country?” If you just visit the sender’s website, you will be sure to find an Eastern European girl suitable for dating and marriage. Best of all, the email is sent from an individual who sounds desperately in need of marriage — Fretful E. Voluptuousness.

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India scores another run

India’s case for the most bizarre Folklaw entries is mounting, and the nation’s citizens could soon take the place of the Romanians who usually star in this column. Latest news from the sub-continent is that two brothers in eastern India have been fined for keeping a pet ghost. Iswar and Haripada Murmu of Akshaypur in West Bengal were accused of owning a ghost after the wife of one of the brothers died.

Villagers summoned an exorcist, who said the pet ghost was responsible for an outbreak of disease in the region. The village council said the brothers were bringing evil to the village and fined them the equivalent of $829. The Deccan Chronicle reported that the brothers had to mortgage their land to raise the money and unless they can pay it back within two months, will lose everything. Hmmm, I must get rid of that monster under the bed when I get home tonight.

The equaliser

Wait — stop press! The Romanians may just have pulled ahead again. They have a 22-year-old woman from Focsani in Vrancea county to thank for their resurgence. She has filed for a divorce after just 10 months of marriage on the grounds that she can’t stand having lunch with her mother-in-law every day. She told the judge that the presence of her mother-in-law at the “most important meal of the day”, and having to put up with said mother-in-law’s scathing remarks at said meal, had ruined her marriage and turned her life into a nightmare. According to the 7 Plus newspaper, the court requested the woman to reconsider and told her she would have to find a better reason if she still wants to separate from her husband. What, an awful mother-in-law isn’t reason enough? God help us all!

Also in Focsani, 70-year-old Eliza Barbu has filed for divorce after 50 years because she can no longer condone her husband spending their pension on feeding stray dogs. Apparently it started with a few scraps thrown to a couple of strays, but the feral network moves quickly and now he feeds a pack of 20 strays, three times a day. Barbu says she can’t condone the fact that the couple starves every week while their pension is spent on food for the strays.