Publications
Partners
This little boy wasn’t only robbed of his treatment money but also his life.
The nine-year-old boy, Ali Bekov, died on 6 July from Leukaemia in the western Russian region of North Ossetia-Alania republic.
The last video of the little boy was shared on social media shortly before his death, showing Ali talking about his dreams for the future.
“I’d like to buy a dog and play with my friends. I also want to meet my brother and sister and hug them tight,” Ali says in the video.
A former government official, who hasn’t been identified, stole funds for a little boy’s cancer treatment. Ali was said to undergo potentially life-saving experimental stem cell treatment but the money to pay for it had been stolen.
The Russian man accused of the theft is said to have got into contact with the sick boy's family, saying he wanted to help him.
Ali’s mother, Larisa Bekova, says she received a call from a man who said he wanted to help her son and pay for the whole treatment. Larisa says she then gave the man her card details and after a while received another call from the same man saying there were issues.
“He told me that the first payment of 4 million RUB (R937 000) didn’t go through and I needed to tell him the numbers from the message I got on my phone.”
After providing the requested numbers to him, the money was deducted from the account, the grieving mother says. It’s reported that the man who called Larisa was an ex-official calling from prison.
The unnamed person used to work as the director of the regional fund for orphans left without parental care. No further information has been shared as to why the ex-official was in jail.
Police say they have opened an investigation into the fraud and the accused and his accomplices face up to six years in prison.
While the money was returned to the mother’s account, during this time Ali tragically died without receiving the treatment his family was to raise funds for.
Ali’s parents says the funds raised for their son’s treatment will now be transferred to a charity that helps children with cancer.
Source: Magazine Features
*Covid-19 is keeping many of us indoors. Our shopping trips have become brief, normal activities have been halted. Many have been wondering if they’ll still get their copy of their favourite YOU magazine. And how will we find things to do while indoors?
Though YOU magazine is available in most grocery stores, you can also subscribe online with no fuss. Click here to purchase a digital copy.
