I don’t know what they use in civil cases, but there is something. A lawyer will know.
The false allegation was theft. And not something like millions of dollars, either. More along the lines of petty theft, which ended up being proved as a false.
Here’s something else just for fun…
Let’s say you’ve got someone you want to mess with. Just simply make an anonymous report to the police that a certain person is a drug using, drug dealing, machete wielding foreigner and without any evidence or actual probable cause a judge will grant a search warrant and the police will show up and go through your stuff!
Here is Taiwan!
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That happens in the US as well. “Probable cause” can be easily made up.
Not even close to what happens here! Not even!
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My house was searched last year from a phone call. The police casually looked around then said sorry and left never to return since.
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Well, if someone were making a habit of wasting the police time and making false tips, anonymous won’t be anonymous for long. Doesn’t matter what country.
Anyone could make a baseless anonymous tip on the US easily as well.
Hi all, OP here. Thank you all for your comments. I’m trying to keep some details vague because of course there is ongoing legal action, and this is a public forum. I will update here as the situation progresses.
Right now, I am in need of a Mandarin-English interpreter that can help me at the hearing with the prosecutor in Taichung.
Please let me know urgently if you know of any agency or individual who can do this. DM me for details.
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I can interpret for you but I am not a lawyer, so I am not sure if I am allowed to do this.
Thank you. I think I may have found somebody, but if it falls through I will reach out.
According to this (and my lawyer), an interpreter is allowed:
https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=C0010001
Article 99 - If an accused is deaf or dumb, or not conversant with the language, an interpreter may be used; such accused may also be examined in writing or ordered to make a statement in writing.
Anyone can be an interpreter. A friend of mine had to go to court for DUI and his own wife served as the interpreter and even got paid!
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Well, if anyone else on the forum must go to court for whatever reason I volunteer my time to be an interpreter. All I ask is maybe a meal or something.
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That sounds like an incentive to drink.
But drink driving is never ok. Occasional disorder, maybe, but not even drink cycling.
Very kind of you!
If anyone that knows OP can go to court as support, it can help a lot. Any extra pairs of eyes and ears can be very helpful.
Sad situ all around for sure. Whats worse than a divorce? A custody battle !!
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Maybe it’ll work out well. The timing of these allegations is going to look suspicious to anyone.
Hey all, OP here. Some good news!
I safely made it back to the U.S. today!
I don’t want to post too many specific details in the public forum, but here’s basically how it happened:
My lawyer filed a brief with the prosecutor explaining the legal reasons why an exit ban was inappropriate and unnecessary, and also providing some evidence and arguments that the allegations were grossly exaggerated. Due to the timing right before Chinese New Year, the brief wasn’t reviewed for quite a while. But once the prosecutor’s office was back to work after the holiday, they summoned me for an interrogation within a week.
I answered a few basic questions from the prosecutor (via a court appointed interpreter who wasn’t too bad), and then had an opportunity to say a few words. I calmly explained the unfair situation that I was in and why it’s important for me to go home ASAP. The prosecutor was sympathetic, and asked me to pay a small bond (insignificant amount in the scheme of things) and the exit ban was revoked.
The next day I went to the Immigration office in Taipei to verify, and got documentation that I was clear to leave the island. I hopped on a flight that night. Passport control at the airport was smooth and uneventful.
My wife does not yet know that I’ve left Taiwan. I will break the news to her soon. She of course still has my kids in Taiwan, but I think the chances are high that she’ll voluntarily come back sooner or later once she realizes her leverage has evaporated.
Thank you all for your support. I’ll keep ya posted.
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Congratulations, @wannagohome!
At least one problem was solved.
I hope you can get to see your kids soon again, and things get fixed with your wife.
As we say in Taiwan, 加油！
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Wonderful. Now at least you can get on with life work etc as you plan your next moves and strategy.
Thanks for posting your results. This will be helpful to someone in the future. And it’s good general information for anyone.
Can you share roughly or approximately how much lawyer fees relating to the exit cost?
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Just so you know, in Taiwan lying to a prosecutor or police in order to get someone in jail or harmed is illegal, and the penalty is quite harsh. You can file a charge against your wife for basically lying to the prosecutor, both criminal and civil. Unlike the US they do take that very seriously because judicial resource is stretched thin and they have little tolerance for someone wasting their time to get at someone.
I don’t know about getting your children back but there are things you can do about this.
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