Friday, November 6, 2009

Sick People, Far And Near

First the far:

Megan Sheehan was working Monday night when Cheng Xiong walked in and asked for a key, “I was like what do you mean, I don't have a key, so he pointed down and I looked over the counter and he was barefoot and had chains around his ankles, with a bolt lock and it was tied around with rope.”

That's when the Eau Claire Police were called. Deputy Chief Eric Larsen says, “Officers did some more investigation which led them to believe this man had been frequently kept chained inside a residence on Davey street.”

Cheng Xiong was then taken into protective custody by social services.

Tuesday morning the Xiong's sat side by side, listening to what prosecutors allege they've done to their son. Prosecutor Wade Newell says, “I understand there may be cultural differences but as the court can see nothing was done with those chains to make it a more comfortable situation for the victim.”

The Xiong family's friend Pete Roller says while he's glad Cheng Xiong is finally being taken care of, he says the parents are good people who were only trying to do what was best for their son. He says, “These are very kind, loving people and the whole things gotten out of control. The young man is getting worse in his outbursts, and they need to protect him from himself.”

In court Tuesday morning prosecutors also said Cheng had been beaten with boxing gloves and a wooden stick by his father Song Xiong and other individuals.

Eau Claire Police say this is an ongoing investigation, and the Chippewa County District Attorney could file additional charges against the Xiong’s.

Wynne Cook is a social worker in Chippewa County for children and youth with special health care needs. She says there are many local organizations that will help parents of disabled children, “You worry if people have language barriers of if they feel isolated for other reasons they may not know where to turn; and so we're always working on ways to connect with families at risk.”

I am sure that cultural and language barriers played a part in this, but as the judge pointed out, that does no matter nor does it ease the suffing the son experienced.

And for the near:

A Franklin man who runs an alcohol and drug abuse counseling center in Greenfield was charged Thursday with 18 felonies, most of them alleging that he defrauded a government program by falsifying treatment forms.

Dennis K. Shirk, 63, also is accused of trying to obtain prescription painkillers from a patient who owed him money, according to a criminal complaint.

A preliminary hearing, to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial, is set for Nov. 13.

Shirk runs the Greenfield office of Parkview Counseling Associates, which also has an office in Plymouth, according to the counseling center's Web site.

According to the complaint, which is based on an investigation by Greenfield police:

Shirk defrauded the nonprofit Impact program, which is funded by Milwaukee County, by submitting claims for payment for counseling sessions that never occurred. He would have patients sign post-dated forms and then submit the forms for payment, even though the clients did not participate in counseling on those days.

Shirk also is accused of forging the signatures of some patients.

The false billings produced payments of at least $4,822.

Being in the field of human services and social work, it just sickens me when I see stories like this or stories of supposed professionals that take sexual advantage of their clients. If you go into this line of work, it is because you care about the clients, not to see how you can use and abuse them. That is a gross violation of trust and about the worst thing you can do to someone who depends on you.

And one more sicko or group of sickos that are near:

More than 900 doses of Milwaukee's allotted H1N1 flu vaccine will have to be returned to the manufacturer, officials said, after a truck used to transport the vaccine was stolen Thursday night.

The truck was taken shortly before 8 p.m. from the 1200 block of W. Highland Blvd. in front of Sarah Scott Middle School, where about 1,950 people received flu vaccinations Thursday, Police Capt. Michael Massa said.

The truck was found abandoned about 8:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of W. Vine St. and none of its contents appeared to be missing, Massa said.

A 38-year-old man who was seen in the truck was arrested nearby, and police were searching for two other men believed to have been with him, Massa said.

Because the vaccine was out of the possession of the Milwaukee Health Department for that time, the doses - both the injectable and nasally ingested vaccine - must be returned to the manufacturer, city health commissioner Bevan Baker said.

Great. There's already a shortage of vaccines, and now 900 more vaccines could be lost forever because of someone's poor impulse control and no sense of social morals.

Some days I really despair for our society.

1 comment:

  1. "Some days I really despair for our society."

    Sorry to say...but the stories your wrote about in this post are mild compare to the ones I've been reading about lately. I can understand your feelings of "despair for our society"...but I've been spitting nails. I'm just so pissed and feel we need a new movement in this country. A movement against all these fucking criminals who think they can take out their sad and pathetic lives out on other people (children and women mostly) and animals.

    ReplyDelete