Criminal procedures

Legal General Legal Matters
1

Just curious about the following:

I was at a restaurant/bar recently where a foreigner was arrested for what they claim is illegal work. The police caught him behind the bar serving drinks. The foreigner claims he was only helping out.

What I would like to know is the process.

They played good cop/bad cop and kept demanding that he sign a statement (a foreign affairs cop was present). So I would strongly suggest to people not to confuse the fact that the foreign affairs police, while speaking English, are NOT necessarily looking out for your rights. Someone told me that the system that prevails here is like the one they use in Germany and you should never sign anything without a lawyer.

Do all of you know who to contact in such an emergency. AIT, Canada, Australia, etc have numbers to call, but I imagine we should all at least have the info handy or they will not let you out of the slammer. If you needed to who would you call? where would you get a lawyer at 2:00 a.m.? What are the procedures that you need to familiarize yourself with. I think everyone should take the time to educate themselves on these matters and would appreciate feedback from any who KNOW the ropes here.

Thanks

2

I cannot for the life of me imagine that AIT, the Brit Council or any of those other do-nothing visa stampers would lift a finger to help one of their nationals who got banged up, much less at 2 in the morning! In fact, don’t most of them specifically say that their policies are “no involvement?” I could be wrong on this, but I’m pretty sure its the way things stand.
I know that for playing music, you can protect yourself by simply having a handbill outside the joint stating that you are not being paid. You’re supposed to provide the local precinct with a copy as well.
But this being Taiwan, I find it easier to do it the Taiwan way and simply have my boss’ cell number on fast-dial. Guanxi counts.