Thinking of being a criminal?

People who commit crimes generally don't think straight. If they did they wouldn't end up as either sad cases or frightened refugees from society. When someone thinks of perpetrating a misdemeanour, which may go onto a fully-fledged crime, they think only of themselves. It is the greatest act of selfishness.

Now take the hapless, and some may say stupid, John Darwin. Allegedly, he conspired with his wife to defraud insurance companies in order to stave off mounting debt. Now one good thing that this New Labour government has done is to make personal bankruptcy both more socially acceptable and easier to arrange. Why he didn't avail himself of this route only the good Lord above knows!

John Darwin has with one stroke of his oar made it an impossible task for the rescue services to know whether any other canoeists who venture out onto the sea or lakes of this country are genuine. "Help! Help! I'm drowning!" "No, you're not, you're trying to get to Panama!" So he hasn't helped them, has he?

Then he has done a disservice to all the relatives of missing people. Will the police be round to see if there are any hidden doors into the next house? Grieving relatives in genuine cases need no more hassles, surely?

And what a plonker to get his picture taken by an estate agent in Panama City. Apparently someone Googled the words John + Darwin + Panama and up popped the picture above. It really is like a bad Columbo case!

The police have been really good about all this and I commend the detectives for the way they have pieced together this tale of deception.

But above all, the family of the Darwins, in particular their sons, have been deceived in a very distressing way. To believe that a father, brother, or cousin (I leave out husband, as Mrs Darwin had no such grief!) is dead in such circumstances is bad enough, but to have those circumstances changed beyond belief is the stuff of tragedy.

Let's hope the Darwins can have time to reflect and make an attempt to make amends.

Posted in: canoeist,John Darwin,Panama City,Seaton Carew