An ex-pat Kiwi living in Singapore said he was moved by burgled butcher Greg "Jacko" Jackson's plight and his determination to carry on. Photo / Peter de Graaf
An ex-pat Kiwi living in Singapore said he was moved by burgled butcher Greg "Jacko" Jackson's plight and his determination to carry on. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A New Zealander living in Singapore says he is helping a burgled Moerewa butcher because he admires his determination to keep making an honest living despite repeated break-ins.
Greg "Jacko" Jackson, of Jacko's Discount Meats, has been flooded with support and donations since his daughter set up a Givealittle pageto help him back on his feet after thieves smashed through the back of his shop and made off with meat worth $6000, cash, and his knives.
Among those who responded to the call was Gisborne-born, Napier-raised Tim Yee, who now runs a firm in Singapore importing chef's equipment. Mr Yee said he had sent a German-made set of knives to Mr Jackson because he knew how important they were to his livelihood.
He sympathised with Mr Jackson because he was the victim of a burglary in 2007 while working as a chef in Malaysia.
"I had my car broken into late at night when I dropped by the bank to deposit a cheque. My laptop, back-up hard drive and some cash was stolen. I couldn't have cared less about the cash and laptop, but the information on the hard drives had 10 years of recipes, menu planning, photos, my entire career portfolio on them, and they were gone in an instant," he said.
"That feeling of devastation, stupidity and helplessness drove me nuts for years, and what made it worse was there was a police station not more than 50m from where I parked my car and the bank."
Mr Yee said he read the Advocate story about the butcher's plight while catching up on news from home. He admired Mr Jackson for having the mental fortitude to carry on making an honest living after being broken into three times.
By yesterday morning the Givealittle page givealittle.co.nz/cause/helpjacko had reached almost $6000 with donations from around the country ranging from $5 to $1000. Many donors left messages urging Mr Jackson not to give up.
Leo McIntyre said: "Don't give up Greg, people like you keep our country going. I could be losing my job soon but right now I have an income so I'm standing with you."
Nichola said: "I'm a vegetarian so giving money to a butcher is tough! But you shouldn't have to suffer because of some d**khead thieves."
