Coming back to Taiwan with unpaid fines

Legal General Legal Matters
1

Hi everyone , I left Taiwan 10 years ago and when I did I gave a scooter to someone to I know and I left it in my name , the scooter has run up lots of speeding tickets etc. I would love to come and work back in Taiwan but I am worried. Does anyone know what would happen or as it was long ago would all records be deleted by now?
Thanks

2

Just pay the fines and you’ll be fine.

3

I suppose that’s a case of you are what you pay. :money_mouth_face:

How have you been informed of all these tickets? The acquaintance kept you up to date? Maybe the acquaintance can also be persuaded to pay the fines and assume proper ownership of the vehicle? :idunno:

4

Assuming your “friend” is not actually you, you could try to show proof that you were not in Taiwan so it couldn’t have been you racking up the fines. There is a website where you can check outstanding fines by putting in the reg and your ARC number, don’t have it to hand but someone may be kind enough to post it.

5

https://www.mvdis.gov.tw/m3-emv-eng/public_en/trafficFineEn

2 Likes
6

Having just run a search it’s amazing how often this topic crops up. It’s astounding how many people do this. Passing scooters from person to person in somebody else’s name. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

7

Form my own personal experience…if you get an ARC eventually the motor vehicles bureau will get hold of your address and serve you all those tickets. They will have increased exponentially, a 30NT parking fee will now be 600, a 600 parking infringement will be 1800.

I’m not sure if they’re eventually dead lettered. I doubt it.

8

Administrative law tends to follow civil law mutatis mutandis on many things, so extinctive prescription may apply. I suppose a lawyer would know.

9

2 posts were split to a new topic: The importance of not being Richard (in the Legal forum)

10

I will. I am afraid that I will get arrested at the airport on arrival.

11

No, but I remember when I moved back to the UK in 2008 and I got a letter from the Taiwan embassy here with a envelope full of tickets and when I spoke to my friend… lets say we don’t speak anymore but I know she didn’t pay them and probably just racked up more and more. Could I say that I wasn’t in Taiwan and the bike was stolen? They would have record of my exit, wouldn’t they?

12

Thanks, as it was back in 2008 I have no idea what my ARC number was

13

Jesus mate, grow a pair. Do you really think immigration arrest people for unpaid parking tickets?

1 Like
14

how do I know - they would in the UAE

15

Wait…are you seriously comparing Taiwan to the UAE? Didn’t you say you lived here before?

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16

I was making a point that all places are different so I came to this forum for advice as I am unsure.

17

There must be some way to find out your ARC number. I’m not sure if the NIA will be able to do it, but I would have thought they could:

https://www.immigration.gov.tw/lp.asp?ctNode=29989&CtUnit=16679&BaseDSD=7&mp=2

I wouldn’t want to return to Taiwan not knowing the size of fines I’m looking at sucking up. God knows how many owners of the scooter there have been over the past 9 years. It could have been passed from one year contract teacher to teacher with a discount for the knowledge that fines can be ignored.

18

That you weren’t in Taiwan is true. That the bike was stolen is apparently not true, and causing an official to make a false entry in an official document is a criminal offence.

3 Likes
19

I don’t recall this kind of thing being in the Criminal Code, but I haven’t really checked for it.

I think it’s more likely they would be interested in seizing your assets (i.e. the bike and financial assets like bank accounts).