Over the weekend, my uncle was on his way home at 4 a.m. from his job as a chef at the bar, Organo, when he came upon 30 scooter punks riding down the wrong side of the road. He got hit by one guy and was subsequently run over by another. Needless to say, his body couldn’t sustain the injuries.
Why were they riding down the wrong side of the road? To avoid a police checkpoint.
This makes me extremely angry, and I really hope that justice is served, but I somehow doubt that justice will be served in Taiwan.
What can you do? Aside from comforting/assisting your uncle’s family as needed, I suppose you can find out what police officers, prosecutors, or other authorities are in charge of investigating and prosecuting the case and make sure you contact them continuously to let them know many people are extremely upset about the incident and demanding justice and you will keep monitoring them to assure that justice is served. Perhaps letters published in the local papers demanding justice might help put some pressure on them. Good luck.
I’d pretty much second MT’s post. You and the rest of his family can keep the pressure on police, and as a foreigner here you may have a little more leverage with the media.
The best way to ensure that the police and prosecuting authorities do their utmost to bring those responsible to justice, and to crack down on these gangs of scooter punks, is to get your local lawmaker on the case. If he harangues the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice during legislative interpellation, they are much more likely to put pressure on their subordinates to deliver results.
My condolences to those near and dear to the unfortunate victim, and I hope they’ll at least have the consolation of seeing those little bastards convicted and heavily punished.
I’m more angry than anything else; it wasn’t just a freak accident - it was caused by f#@%ing youths who don’t think twice (or even once) about the consequences of their actions.
Not only did those motherf#@%ers hit him… but they fled the scene, trying to escape responsibility.
And I believe this could have definitely been prevented by the police. If you look at the picture, the police are stationed near the front of the road-dividing island. Ample opportunity for people to spot them and turn around (but in this case, ride on the wrong side of the road). In Canada, when the police set up checkpoints (usu. for drunk driving), they make sure that by the time you see the police, it’s too late AND they make sure they set up somewhere where it’s impossible to escape.
The best way to ensure that the police and prosecuting authorities do their utmost to bring those responsible to justice, and to crack down on these gangs of scooter punks, is to get your local lawmaker on the case. If he harangues the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice during legislative interpellation, they are much more likely to put pressure on their subordinates to deliver results.
My condolences to those near and dear to the unfortunate victim, and I hope they’ll at least have the consolation of seeing those little bastards convicted and heavily punished.[/quote]
Thanks, that’s a good idea. I am also contacting someone I know that knows someone at Apple Daily Newspaper to ask them to continue reporting to keep up the news coverage.
Dragonbones: my family is “foreign” in the Western sense of the word, but in the Chinese sense, we are merely “huaqiao,” which isn’t so foreign to a Chinese person.
My other thoughts are that we sometimes can’t blame these youths wholly for all their actions. I am past my “age of stupidness” now, and so I can look back upon all my past actions and be thankful that I didn’t die or kill anyone or cause major harm, but it could’ve been me. In fact, most young/immature folk seem to do stupid things all over the world; harming themselves and harming others. It might be driving recklessly, taking drugs, or even murder… but in most cases of “harmless fun,” people change as they get older and mature… and if they’ve been lucky enough to escape serious trouble, they usually go on to lead safe, fulfilling lives.
Therefore, does anyone think that maybe the availability of things that can cause harm is the only way to prevent disaster? (For example, there is hardly any domestic gun crime in the UK, because there are hardly any guns - but that is not the case in the U.S. or in Canada.)
Of course you can blame these idiots for their ‘foolishness’. That’s your uncle they killed (and most tragic that is too) by their actions, which were not foolish but culpable driving, manslaughter, and any number of other crimes.
Sorry shawn_c…that’s terrible…please accept my heartfelt condolences…
the problem is the kids over here don’t know the consequences of their actions…they think they can get away with anything…the law in taiwan has become too soft…
nearly every other week you see reports on tv of kids riding scooters like crazy and the police " trying " to catch them…hey lay down some spikes let the guys crash and land up with broken bones, smashed skulls and then we will see if the next batch of nutty kids will try to follow what their peers did…
i was still shaking my head after reading the case of the poor taxi driver who was brutally murdered for just Ntd 1800 and now this…
we all did crazy things when we were young and stupid but not something like the kids are doing nowadays…you are absolutely right…they don’t think twice or once about the consequences of their actions…
i hope you can raise enough " noise " and get the bastards convicted!!!
OMG, I was just reading about that 3 min ago on a news site before coming over here and seeing your post. So sorry to hear that. My condolences. Please take care.
Dragonbabe suggests the same, and adds that there’s a legislative election coming up, which could work to your advantage, shawn_c, as they’ll want to be seen doing something, fighting for something. Find out who your representatives are, and contact them.
Thanks again for all the condolences and suggestions - I will contact these people.
I also wish to advise those of you out there that ride scooters (or drive) to be extra careful, and especially make sure your helmet fits properly and is of the highest quality. The thought also came to mind that a bigger scooter would allow one to fare better in the event of a collision.
wow that is really outrageous. sorry for your loss. Try to get as much media coverage as you can. I’m sure everyone who reads the paper will notice. Being reckless and irresponsible is one thing, but outright murder is something no one should be able to escape from
If the cops review the CCTV footage for the area they should be able to identify the pack of scooters when they were travelling on some road or down some alley. Get the license plates, get their names and drag them into the police station. Sqeeuze more names out of them
Then impound all the scooters and check for evidence
Well, it wasn’t outright murder, I just put that in the thread title because what’s the difference?
The scooter gang rode down the opposite side of the street in order to avoid a police checkpoint and ran into my uncle head-on. After he tumbled off his scooter, another scooter ran over his body. There were about 20-30 people in this pack of juvenile delinquents.
So, it wasn’t intentional, but it was definitely manslaughter.
Basically, after the crash, the suspects ran off and went to a nearby hospital to attend to their own injuries. The police, however, found that one of their ID cards had dropped on the floor and eventually found them at a nearby hospital. The suspects then told the police exactly what happened and they were charged with “reckless endangerment.”
TNT: So, they are in jail now, but their bail amount is only $50,000 each - so it wouldn’t be hard for them to post it (the article didn’t say that they did, though).
The article also states that the suspects didn’t seem to care and were acting as if they didn’t do anything; which makes me even angrier.
I’m more angry than anything else; it wasn’t just a freak accident - it was caused by f#@%ing youths who don’t think twice (or even once) about the consequences of their actions.
Not only did those motherf#@%ers hit him… but they fled the scene, trying to escape responsibility.
And I believe this could have definitely been prevented by the police. If you look at the picture, the police are stationed near the front of the road-dividing island. Ample opportunity for people to spot them and turn around (but in this case, ride on the wrong side of the road). In Canada, when the police set up checkpoints (usu. for drunk driving), they make sure that by the time you see the police, it’s too late AND they make sure they set up somewhere where it’s impossible to escape.[/quote]
Aside from how terrible this is for the op and his family we all know why the roadblock was set up as it was, to give people an opportunity to avoid/escape the roadblock.
By giving people an opportunity to escape the police check the police can minimize the actual work they have to do, less people through means less work and god forbid the paperwork if they actually catch somebody!
It also grants the drunken rich cunts an opportunity to save face. The worst part about running a police check is that you may catch someone who is famous/rich/connected/irate or otherwise just a plain old fashioned garden variety prick. In those uncomfortable situations it is best to avoid confrontation by avoiding eye contact laughing a lot and making sure the offended party has not in any way been inconvenienced.
In fact it is just easier to do a half-assed cha bu duo job at your roadblock and thereby avoid any unpleasantness that may arise from actually attempting to do your job and enforce the law.
TNT: So, they are in jail now, but their bail amount is only $50,000 each - so it wouldn’t be hard for them to post it (the article didn’t say that they did, though).
The article also states that the suspects didn’t seem to care and were acting as if they didn’t do anything; which makes me even angrier.[/quote]
As said in numerous posts in this thread, get the media involved and get the local borough warden, legislator involved.
I do not know the criminal code here, thus the criminal charge, but the more coverage the incident gets, the more the judge and prosecutor will be shamed at not throwing the book at them
Another issue here and in general, is that road users will break laws up to the point where they think they can afford it, and to the point where the police will begin to act on it. In this particular case the scooter gang must have somehow believed, that the police (even if they saw them) would not have pursued them.
Traffic violations can be bought off. Reckless driving of any sort should include automatic disqualification
I knew your uncle Nelson since the time I arrived here in Taiwan…he was THE most kind hearted, courteous, humble & soft spoken guy I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet…although I didn’t know him that well, the first impression I got from him was definitely imbedded deeply in my memory and that was of a good brother, son and a good friend to everyone. He went out of his way to help anyone who asked for his help and always did it with a smile on his face. Never once did I see a scowl on his face or hear him utter a profanity.
Nelson and my brother had been good buddies since the time he (my bro) arrived here on this island and we stayed together briefly in the Fushing apartment…I still remember Nelson giving me the awesome haircut with that electric razor in 10 mins flat …what a fantastic job!!! …and the weekend parties we used to have where Nelson would make those awesome curries and fried BBQ chicken :lick: fingerlickin’ delicious…I still can’t believe he’s left us forever …
When my brother called me on Sunday to tell me the tragic news…I was simply shocked…I couldn’t believe this had happened…I kept thinking…“How can this happen? Why did it happen? Who was responsible?”…After getting more insight on the tragic story from the Apple Daily, I was appalled to read that his death was caused by a bunch of crazy nitwits…some 30-odd Biker Street racing gang!!! :fume:…who rode illegally modified, no licence plates scooters who in order to avoid a police checkpoint, drove on the wrong side at great speeds resulting in the the death of an innocent man :fume: …unbelievable!!
My condolences and prayers are with you and Nelson’s family in this moment of great tragedy…I hope justice can be meted out swiftly to all those responsible and his family can all come together to ride out these hard times…Thank you Nelson for all the good times…you will always be remembered!!
…what a fantastic job!!! 
…and the weekend parties we used to have where Nelson would make those awesome curries and fried BBQ chicken :lick: fingerlickin’ delicious…I still can’t believe he’s left us forever 
…