Unpaid Drunk Driving Fines

I’m waiting to see that pop up in the threads. You yourself know, the law is up to the interpretation of the person issuing things. One person might say whatever, another might say feck off, despite having the same set of rules.

Waiting myself and curious to see if folks with contracts can enter.

I don’t think OP needs a special visa to get into Taiwan. He can just show up at the airport, authorities will be flagged down and he will be let into the country to face the music. I doubt that being ‘let in’ will just mean that he will be allowed to run amok. It’ll likely be direct-to-prison until a hearing can be made for these extra charges he will face.

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Every other foreigner I know of who got popped for DUI had to sign an (several, actually) agreement with the Court and verbally agree that they wouldn’t leave the country or even move house until the whole deal was settled and the sentence complete.
For lower fines than the OP, FWIW.

I’m curious about this not happening in this situation.

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Hey guys,

I have to reiterate that I have no criminal record. There are no flight restrictions of any kind. Please leave flaming out of this in case someone else has a similar situation and wants to make a new life for themselves. If they find this post, they can find solace in the fact they can leave and those who live in Taiwan can find solace in the fact they won’t ever have to deal with them.

Side note:
I have a teaching license in English from the U.S. and the Foreign English Teacher program is always reeling for teachers as their pay for licensed teachers is pretty low. You could work at a cram school and make more while having less hours physically at work.

Once again, no criminal record from this. Just a fine. Stop using the wrong terminology for future readers.

*Can’t post anymore so I’ll respond here. No one has answered my question #3, I have the intent to pay back the fine but most are agreeing here that it’s just not worth it to come back.

Me too. I’m already getting the feeling that schools are struggling to fill positions.

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I’ll be honest, you need a lawyer over here or someone who can speak Mandarin on your behalf to see what the story is. Likelihood is, you may not want to return here.

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You can get onto the FET programme with a DUI conviction? They should focus on those nice Fulbright Scholars.

You should be doing the leaving after you have paid your debt back to society. You have already damaged the trust by breaking the law and further damaged the trust by absconding and we have to suffer the consequences for it. This post practically encourages people to ‘not deal’ with the authorities.

Really? You really think you aren’t going to be criminally tried for absconding? You really think that this is consequence-free and that it’s OK to pack up when you were told not to?

Puh-lease. You’re kidding yourself.

If you think you don’t have a criminal record.

https://english.police.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=7E2EFE92791FFFE7&sms=85FBABE70858A8D4&s=5FDBA14D42E74905

Feel free to use this site and get a check.

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What was the sentence? Was it 3 months jail commutable to a fine (pay 1000nt per day)? Or just a fine?

If it’s just a fine you can’t go to jail, however not paying the fine means they can do stuff like garnish wages, freeze your bank account, confiscate real estate, etc. to pay the fine off.

If it’s 3 months jail commutable to a fine then you must be more careful. The prosecutor can decide once you show up to carry out the sentence to not let you pay the fine and you will go to jail. However this is rare and it’s common for repeat offense. But you show up when the summon appears and either pay the fine, or if you can’t pay it, go to jail or ask for community service.

You were sentenced in absence because you were under a summary criminal proceeding. You will not be summoned and the judge will sentence you based on your case and send you a judgment paper. The judgment paper will say what your sentence is (jail with commutation, a fine, or suspended sentence). In a summary proceeding they must either sentence you with a fine, suspended sentence, jail time with commutation by a fine, etc… They cannot sentence you to mandatory jail, for that they must issue a formal indictment and you would receive a summon, for which if you do not show up a warrant for your arrest will be issued.

In that case you would not even be allowed to leave the country at all.

So find your judgment paper, and once you have it it will say what your sentence is. If it’s a fine then you will not go to jail however you must pay it. I think you may be able to ask for community service if you are unable to pay it. If it’s only a fine you do not even have to be present at the summon. You can have a friend go on your behalf to pay the fine.

Also no debates about how Taiwan fines drink drivers. In my opinion the punishment for drunk driving in Taiwan is too lenient. In Canada it is an indictable offense, basically a felony to drive drunk. If you even suspect you might be over the limit TAKE A DAMN TAXI. Or walk, take the MRT or something. Don’t endanger others by driving. No drunk person ever thinks they are drunk.

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The airlines will not let him have a boarding pass without appropriate entry visa, in this case and of late, that would be some kind of special entry Visa.

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Huh?

I don’t see how you can move back to Taiwan under current virus situation.

Foreigners are not allowed to enter Taiwan right now. There are some special entry visas that they, Taiwan office in Vietnam, can put in your passport, and airline will give boarding pass, but I have not heard of any for employment.

Taiwan may/will allow visitors from Vietnam eventually but no way to predict when. Or they may only initially allow visitors from Vietnam with Vietnam passports.

That’s the first time I’ve heard of this waiver. Has anyone else heard of this type of waiver?

I just want to mention that blowing a 0.55 in the US could get you 6 months in jail depending on where you are. And fleeing a trial could get you a lot more. The idea that the Taiwan judgment was too much is not really accurate, though I’m sure there are places in the US that might get you less than a paltry fine like the OP had.

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Also in the US not only is there the fee for dui, but you will have other fees added such as impound fees, dui school fees, added insurance costs, and others. I’ve read and heard it could be very expensive after everything has been added up.

Hi PJH, please help me to understand: you claim to have no criminal record, but is your DUI conviction not a criminal conviction?

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Pretty sure he’s meaning to differentiate between felony and misdemeanor, with, in Taiwan, the DUI falling into the latter category.

I shouldn’t be surprised if going on the lam to avoid the penalty, however, bumps it up to a felony.

I think you might have heard the judge wrong:

0.15 to .25 are administrative charges (30k to 90k fines)
.25 and above are criminal charges
.55 is really drunk, like 7 or 8 beers drunk

Taiwan has been cracking down on DUIs for 10 years, increasing the penelties every other year.

You might need a new criminal background check and this is where your issues lie. Taiwan is a part of interpol, criminal drunk driving would show up on your records which could hurt you anywhere you need a clean record.

As far as I know, you cannot even cross the border into Canada from the US with a DUI on your record.

When they ask for a home-country background check, it often includes anything anywhere associated with your passport and interpol.

You need a lawyer not online advice. Running away from the fine and likely ditching your contract with little notice isn’t exactly in your favor. Did you have a lawyer present? Honestly, I think you heard the judge wrong, <.25 there’s no criminal charges. 0.55 is dead drunk.

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I’ve had a friend call the police station and district court ~3 months ago. They have both said there is no criminal record on file.

If anyone knows any way to contact the district court or even the DMV in English please let me know. I can’t find anything online and I just keep getting hung up on when I call the numbers on their websites.

Also, are you sure a federal background check from the u.s. is going to show a fine in Taiwan due to interpol? That sounds wildly unlikely.

Finally, I didnt even have an interpreter let alone a lawyer at my first court hearing. I was told the interpreter drove to the wrong court house so I just asked the cop to do it. He did a very poor job of explaining.

It’s impossible for me to get this judgment letter to tell from hundreds of miles away. That mail was definitely thrown out after moving out.

Wow! That’s really great and inspiring news.

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