Is it logical if someone be sent to jail due to unpaid debts?
@fatherblogger (673)
Philippines
August 25, 2009 8:03pm CST
I am not really familiar with the law about this, but a friend of mine is being sued by the bank he owe a lot of money. Unfortunately, he has no capacity to pay and no more valuable things or properties to sell.
He is also afraid that his family will suffer more if he will be jailed for his debts, and I am sure that he is not making alibis just to escape from his responsibility as a creditor.
Now, I am wondering if he will be jailed then he will not be more capable to pay his debt. Even if he proves that he really cannot pay as of this time, do you think it's logical for the authorities to put him to jail?
Thanks! 
5 people like this
10 responses
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
15 Sep 09
Hello friend. If he is sent to jail, then he will never have a chance to pay off his debts because he is deprived of his right to work to make some earnings. sometimes it is hard for us to understand laws already made. I think that it it time for the government to make some changes about them. I wish your friend good luck without being to jail for this. Bless him.
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
26 Aug 09
It doesn't happen in this country unless you deliberately commit fraud. I did have a friend in Indonesia who was saying after his appendicitis surgery that he could have been jailed for not paying the bill if he hadn't come up with the money. I think that's totally wrong. It basically amounts to jailing somebody just because they're poor.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
26 Aug 09
that has never made sense to me doing that.
how do they expect people to pay it back from there? even if you have a "jail" job,they don't pay very much.
they'd be better off applying a future profit lien of some kind.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
26 Aug 09
I didn't realize that there were any countries left who jailed people for debt. This always seem counter productive to me, how do they expect him to clear his debits if he has no way to earn enough to do so? The logic of these laws is beyond me. Maybe it's the threat that the law will cause jail time that brings extra effort from the debtors to pay off.
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
26 Aug 09
No it is no logical to put someone in jail if they can not pay their debts. Here were I live they do not get put in jail. They can either set up something with the debtors or file bankrupty to get out of debt.
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
26 Aug 09
Well, he has got two choices i guess.. Either being put away in jail or be made a bankrupt, if he really has got no way to repay those debts!! THat's the norm.. Just like some cases of crimes, if one cant afford to pay the fine imposed on them, they will have to serve time behind bars for a certain period of time..
THat's the punishment that one has to pay.. ANd the law is trying to be flexible here as well..
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
26 Aug 09
hi fatherflogger here in the USA we dont put people into
jail for being in debt we just work it out between the'bank
and the person. debtors prisons went out back in the'years of 1700s
and now its altogether different.I do not know what the'laws '
are where you are but I would ask as I dont think prison
is the answer for your friend.
@neildc (17238)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
26 Aug 09
Being a creditor will not put a man in jail, and there is no one or i never heard a man jailed because he borrowed money. If the court finds him that he intentionally borrowed the money and knows he can't pay back or will not pay back (swindling or estafa, art.315 of rpc) or he has no capability to pay (say using checks with no funds, that's against bp 22), that could bring him behind bars.
