Beat Up By Customs Agent

A friend of mine was just recently assaulted by a customs agent at the overstay office in CKS Airport. It began as an argument over a fine for a day overstay. He got frustrated, put down some change and said it was all he had. As he walked away, the agent threw the change at his back, then ran up behind him, grabbed him by the collar and punched him in the back of the head, then threw him up against the wall, shouting “do you know who I am? I am a customs agent!” He broke away from the guy and ran. There was an airport employee with him who was helping him around the airport and was shocked by the whole incident. Eventually he ran into a couple American businessmen who helped him out and went back to the office. They paid the fine to the agent and he stamped a year ban from the country on my friend’s passport. He wasn’t planning on coming back to Taiwan, but still…

Ever heard of this type of thing happening?

Yah, it happens occassionaly when asshole foreigners hold officials in contempt. WTF was wrong with your friend? He overstayed, refused to pay the full fine and somehow thought it was his right to still pass through customs? He’s lucky he’s not in jail right now as he certainly deserves to be. :loco: :loco:

Amen, it is too bad that Mr. Asshole Foreigner didn’t get it fed to him a bit more. I hate assholes like that.

Yeah, I’m sure he gave the agent some 'tude and I don’t excuse it. I was just wondering if that was standard protocol. Seems like the professional thing to do would be to detain him and make him miss his flight or something like that, etc. Scrapping in the airport tho? C’mon.

I does sound like the Customs agent went a bit overboard, but your friend is a complete mong too.

I really don’t get this thing with so many people overstaying. It’s not like you don’t know in advance when your time is up.

I heard the [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/beat-up-by-customs-agent/11896/1 amazing story[/url]about the special treatment of White foreigners in Taiwan. It seems that a foreign male overstayed his visa, refused to pay the fine, and then assaulted the customs officer who was dealing with his case. Unbelievably, he then fled custody. Apparently nothing special happened to the guy. He was banned from re-entering Taiwan for a year, but so what? If an Iraqi student did that in the US, I figure he’d end up dead or in a special prison that doesn’t let you have a lawyer.

Has anyone ever heard of foreign criminals receiving such special treatment?

Iraqi student? or Iraqi spy?

I’m sure he’d have got much worse, and would be cooling his heels in a cell even now, if he’d been a Taiwanese (or any other nationality) trying on a caper like that with an immigration official in the US, UK, or wherever.

Unless you are a big shot with powerful connections, you are never, ever going to get the better of a quarrel with a customs or immigration officer, and your friend was pretty dumb not to know that and act accordingly.

[quote=“Tetsuo”]I does sound like the Customs agent went a bit overboard, but your friend is a complete mong too.

I really don’t get this thing with so many people overstaying. It’s not like you don’t know in advance when your time is up.[/quote]
But we are ‘special’ don’t you know? The rules don’t apply to us… :unamused:

Doesn’t sound standard but then again I think your friend got off easy. If he’d tried that crap in the U.S. he’d probably be in jail waiting for a hearing - aren’t custom agents considered law enforcement officers?

Well, once I brought in four bottles of booze and they let me through customs. Does that count as special treatment?

How can you tell the difference? As that American patriot Ann Coulter said, not every Arab is a terrorist, but every terrorist is an Arab!

At all airports customs officers work as immigration officers. They have the power to search and detain anybody, for any reason.

The wanker friend got less than he deserved. Running away from a law enforcement officer especially at an airport would have gotten him shot in a lot of places, not just a bang on the head.

Too many foreigners walk around with their heads up their arses and then wonder why people can’t see things from their perspective.

Customs or immigration ? It’s very foolish to mess with these people, what good can come of giving lip to the customs or immigration ?

An overstay or other adverse stamp in your passport will likely cause problems in HK, China, and Singapore, or anywhere else they can read Chinese. I believe it’s also in English.

Yeah, I understand your points, but I didn’t post this to get any “sympathy” for my friend for doing something stupid (Vannyel: :notworthy:) I just thought it was an odd reaction by the officer and out of curiosity, I was wondering if this happens often. I don’t believe he “ran away” from the officer - he was going to find a bank or something. I’ve had to deal with those guys at the overstay office a few times (yeah, more than once - long story) and they were always pleasant, just filled out the documents and asked me to pay the money. One time I left the overstay office to go to the bank to withdraw money for the fine and there weren’t any problems, I just said I’d be right back. I wasn’t aware I was being detained. I’ve also had several experiences with US and British customs in drug and weapons searches etc, but they’ve always been “professional” about it. And last I checked, authorities aren’t given the right to beat people just for annoying them. A ban, sure. A stay in the cell - er…I guess :unamused: . A beating - let’s be civil here folks.

My friend’s brother got a severe beating by local cops after he had an accident on a stolen motorcycle. He wasn’t aware the bike was stolen, since he had just borrowed it from a friend. Yep, he was Taiwanese. Unless it’s in self defense, I don’t see how you can accept authorities beating anyone…

What makes you think he was a “yank”?

[quote=“AndyO”]Yeah, I understand your points, but I didn’t post this to get any “sympathy” for my friend for doing something stupid (Vannyel: :notworthy:) I just thought it was an odd reaction by the officer and out of curiosity, I was wondering if this happens often. I don’t believe he “ran away” from the officer - he was going to find a bank or something. I’ve had to deal with those guys at the overstay office a few times (yeah, more than once - long story) and they were always pleasant, just filled out the documents and asked me to pay the money. One time I left the overstay office to go to the bank to withdraw money for the fine and there weren’t any problems, I just said I’d be right back. I wasn’t aware I was being detained. I’ve also had several experiences with US and British customs in drug and weapons searches etc, but they’ve always been “professional” about it. And last I checked, authorities aren’t given the right to beat people just for annoying them. A ban, sure. A stay in the cell - er…I guess :unamused: . A beating - let’s be civil here folks.

My friend’s brother got a severe beating by local cops after he had an accident on a stolen motorcycle. He wasn’t aware the bike was stolen, since he had just borrowed it from a friend. Yep, he was Taiwanese. Unless it’s in self defense, I don’t see how you can accept authorities beating anyone…[/quote]

Well since we only know what has been posted it might SEEM odd; however, if he actually threw the change on the counter and turned for the door, I doubt if the officer thought he was just walking out to find a bank. BTW, since you said you’ve had this problem several times before - didn’t you clue your buddy to the fact that he would need more than the change in his pocket or how to ‘handle’ the guys at the overstay office?
As for the way you were treated by the U.S. and British officials, do you think their actions might have something to do with the way you were acting? Tell you what, next time you go to the U.S., and the customs guy asks you a question, just start belittling his career choice, his IQ, his family and then throw a pocket full of change on the desk in front of him. Tell us how he responds, OK? :wink:

He was rude, he had to be a yank… :unamused:

Last time I came into Taiwan was on a flight from Bali. I had been drinking rather a lot on the plane so needed to urinate quite urgently when I got off the plane. There was a terribly long line up and I didn’t think I could hold it so I just had a whiz in one of those potted plants they have by the immigration counter. Well by god, you should have seen the fuss that created. About four or five women got out their cameras and started taking pictures and waving money, and then these big stupid looking security guys came and grabbed me by the arms and what with my pecker still pulled out and all there was piss flying all over the place! What a mess. Next they took me into a little room and all these ugly mean looking guys started yelling at me and acting like they were going to beat me up or something. I was starting to get really scared and then next thing I remember I am waking up in the hospital and my wife is there and she is crying all over the place. In the end I had to promise never to drink on the airplane again or to piss in the potted plants at the airport. I am not an expert in foriegn relations or anything but I think that this was a terrible way to treat a distinquished foriegn guest like myself.

You didnt know that there are lavatories on the plane then I guess…?

Lavatories…? Oh, you mean crappers! No, actually I didn’t know they had those on the plane. Do you need a special pass?

Oh for god’s sake! Some people are SUCh fucking newbies. :unamused: Next time you fly, take a look in the seat pocket in front of you. You’ll find that the items stashed there include a paper bag with a waterproof lining.
You crap into that. Sheesh! I thought everyone knew that. :unamused: