Women and Safety

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

I’ve known that Taiwan has a reputation of being a safe place for both foreign men and women, and never have I ever felt like I was in real danger until today. I just had my first very terrible, absolute worst experience in Taiwan ever. And I want to know what I can do to protect myself in the future.

Here’s the story. I was with my girlfriend and our dogs in a Kaohsiung park today for several hours, until there was a very big, very rambunctious husky puppy who as it was prancing around uncontrollably, leapt into my face and knocked me over. I hit my head pretty hard on the ground, got a bit of a cut, but whatever. I didn’t think my injuries were a big deal. Girlfriend thought it would at least be good to let the owner know that perhaps he needs to keep a better eye on his dog because it had been running around, harassing other people and other dogs, and obviously it wasn’t safe.

What a fucking mistake.

The guy heard as much as, “Hey you know your dog knocked over my friend, and I wanted to ask you if you could…” and he poked her in the chest with his water bottle, challenging her and asking “And what? And what? What’re you going to do? Call the police? You gonna call the police. Call the police then. Call them. What’re you going to do? What? What? What?” And he continued to aggressively push her around with his bottle, not letting my gf get a single word in. She wasn’t going to let a man push her, much less touch her, so she decided the conversation wasn’t worth the effort, yelled that the conversation was over, pushed him away, and walked off.

Then he started to follow us. As I tried to walk away, I told him that all we wanted was to say was that he needed to keep his dog under control. I had a headache, thanks to his negligence, and I just wanted to go home. I didn’t care to get any police involved. He just needed to STFU and stop following us. And he kept on, saying, “Hey don’t go. You want to call the police? Call the police? Don’t go. What do you want to do? Don’t leave.” Then he started shouting expletives because he thought it would be even more fun to taunt us. He got in front of me, and got way into my space, to the point where I was less than an inch from his chest, and continued to push closer as he was repeating all of these words. I told him to buzz off and shoved him several times out of my way, as he kept putting himself back in front of me, even as his friend was trying to tell him to stop. This went on for nearly half a mile, to the end of the park and across several streets, until we reached a local shop that we frequent.

He waited outside of the shop for us as we explained to the shopkeepers what the situation was and called the police. The police come at least 20 minutes later, and interrogate me like I’m the fucking problem. They ask me to step outside of the shop in plain view of this creep, ask me for my information, and tell them what the problem was. I start the story from the beginning, and the cop doesn’t let me finish my story before he interrupts me and asks me if I want to sue him for my injuries. No, I say. And I try to explain what I actually want him to do, which was to either get the asshole to stop following me home, or for them to give us a drive because I “FEARED FOR OUR LIVES AND SAFETY.” But he wouldn’t even let me restart my sentence. He just kept insisting that I answer his question about bringing the problem to court, as I kept insisting that the injury wasn’t the problem. He basically ended the conversation in this way: If I wanted to sue, the process would take 6 months. If I didn’t want to sue, they weren’t going to do anything at all and they were under no obligation to do anything for me, my girlfriend, and our safety. Period.

Awesome, so we had to wait this guy out, or let him follow us, possibly to our home. Only when the guy successfully manages to ASSAULT us, will the police be “able” to do a goddamned thing. Fan-frickin-tastic.

It was only by luck that another pair of officers arrived (because gf called for them three times) who were much more reasonable and willing to listen, asked what it was we needed before making sure (again) that we didn’t want to sue. It took nearly half an hour from the time the police initially arrived til this time for someone to understand that what we needed was someone to help us either get away from this guy or keep him away.

Ultimately, we got a ride home after a very nice passerby tried to help us out. But now I’m paranoid as hell, and I plainly don’t feel safe here anymore, not just because there are some crazy ass people out there, but it also takes more than half an hour for the police to arrive and help me, IF they even choose to. So, does anyone have any idea what I’m allowed to do to protect/defend myself in these situations? Who the hell am I able to call to protect me if not the police? What are my rights? I’ve already called the police, the foreigner hotline, the women’s hotline, mayor’s office, and 1999, and if any of them were willing to talk to me, they told me that unless I’ve been raped or assaulted, there was nothing anyone could or would do for me.

2

Wow, I’m really sorry to hear about this. It sounds like the police were quite remiss in being so nonchalant about the whole thing. In my opinion, the guy had already assaulted your girlfriend, by poking her repeatedly with his water bottle.

Taiwan is generally very safe, but there are still plenty of jerks here, including violent people and rapists. I don’t think it would be unreasonable to carry a heavy stick when walking your dogs in a large park or semi-isolated areas. I do this myself when walking my dogs in such areas, for purposes of frightening off packs of strays. It is very effective for that purpose (just brandishing it has always worked, I’ve never had to actually hit a dog). It doesn’t hurt to know that it could also be a deterrent to human attacks, and though I’ve never been assaulted by a stranger here, I’ve been approached by some creeps at night (especially on a couple of occasions when I used to take long walks in the back hills of Xindian alone with my dogs), and felt glad to have the stick in my hand.

Having said that, I don’t recommend physically fighting unless you absolutely have to (for example if he tries to grab you or get you into a vehicle, in which case you should fight tooth and nail with everything you have and don’t stop until you’ve seriously hurt him or gotten aid from others).

Before it comes to that, the best thing is to get the hell out of the situation as fast as possible, scream bloody murder, and call or attract the police. So you did exactly the right things, but perhaps just not fast enough and loudly enough (and the police failed you). I think that if something like this happens again – god forbid – I would suggest you (non-violantly but dramatically) escalate the situation by screaming for help, screaming bloody murder, while pointing at and accusing the attacker. That could help to get more attention and force the police to take the situation more seriously. Also, there are definitely some bystanders in Taiwan who will come to assist a person in distress or under attack. I’ve done it myself, and seen it done by others as well. And if you’re not going to “press charges”, think of how to extricate yourself as quickly as possible by calling a friend on your cell phone to come get you, or calling a taxi from a reputable company, or insisting that the police drive you out of there – by specifically telling them that you are afraid and need to get out of reach of the creep. Have a plan for this, so that if it ever happens again, you will have some steps to take.

Again, really sorry to hear about this. Hope the rest of your holiday is on a much happier note!

3

I’m sorry to hear this also, although it sucks now be thankful that it should end at this, most of these people are just hotheads. He may have been goading you for a fight just to call his buddies up , that would have ended up much worse. These type of people have problems already and they just want to drag other people down with them and are looking for innocent people to focus their anger on.
I think you did the right thing as you avoided bringing it to the next level although given severe provocation, which is again usually a sign that they are setting a trap for you.

4

This is basically correct. Taiwan law does not attempt to prevent bad stuff happening. It just cleans up the mess after the fact. Also, as you unfortunately found out the hard way, it is NOT the job of the police to stop bad stuff happening. Their job is just to file reports (which can be conveniently lost if necessary) after it does. This simple fact explains a whole raft of stuff about Taiwanese society, such as bad driving, gang culture, etc. It also explains why people like this guy get away with being assholes: it’s because they can.

Having said that, there are some policemen who are genuinely decent people (as in any country) and will do what they can - given the constraints of the law - to sort things out. There are also policemen who are thugs and idiots (as in any country) and all you can do is walk away from them if they’re being useless.

As for the situation you were in: it’s awkward. I think you made two mistakes. One (as the poster above said), you didn’t get out fast enough. Two, you calmly told the police the truth.

In Taiwan, the law is often on the side of the aggressor, or at least takes no real interest. Ordinary people behave themselves not because the law works, but because it doesn’t: they know things can get badly out of hand, so they try to prevent things escalating. The best solution to any potentially violent situation is to get the hell out, as fast as possible, because the guy might have ten buddies waiting to work you over with watermelon knives. And after they do, a bunch of numpties with a stretcher and a notebook will scrape up what’s left and cart you off to the hospital, and that’ll be the end of it. So just make a strategic exit. Quickly. Most people are decent. A very small percentage are not.

As for the police: the standard procedure is to howl, cry, and generally act aggrieved. Take drama lessons if you have to. You should always say you’re going to sue him for everything he’s got. If you don’t want to sue, that’s clear proof that you were in the wrong. You don’t actually have to go through with it if you can’t be bothered - but simply saying you’re going to will often draw a line under the matter. Most importantly, it pre-empts the psycho’s chance to threaten to sue you. Like you, I found out the hard way that this is how it works.

As an absolute last resort: if it is physically impossible for you to make a quick exit, bluff. People like this are usually just bullies who get a rise out of winding you up, but wouldn’t take a swing at you; partly because that’s when the law does kick in, and partly because the odds aren’t stacked in his favour. Get in his face and stare him down. Learn some choice Taiwanese phrases if you like, but English will work fine. Act like you’re crazy as a shithouse rat on crack. Learn how to look like a certifiable lunatic. Rant and drool. Develop a weird tic. A less aggressive possibility is to get one of those little continuous-loop video cameras that are sold for exactly this purpose. He might decide it’s not worth the trouble and go away. As the previous poster said, passersby might come over to help, but be wary because they might assume the foreigner started it all. If he gets out his phone, take it and chuck it as far as you can (assuming you still can’t run away). He probably doesn’t actually have any friends, but you don’t want to take the chance.

In the unlikely event the police turn up, just tell them the guy is a psycho (remember to turn on the drama), he’s been threatening you, and just walk away if they start interrogating you. You are NOT obliged to stay and talk to them: as you’ve discovered, they don’t have any powers of arrest unless an assault has clearly taken place. If the guy insists you took his phone, swear black is white and challenge them to search you. Say as little as possible. The police are NOT on your side. They rarely are, in any country. Like I said, this is an absolute last resort, if you’re literally in a corner. If in doubt, run. It might not look pretty, but it does work.

5

Sorry to hear about your trouble. I can only agree with the above suggestion that you keep some numbers handy. I found a driver I liked in Kaohsiung and would always call him directly if I needed cab service. If I hadn’t given him advance notice and he couldn’t come right away, he could send someone else. Because my preferred driver had sent him, I knew it was safe enough to trust the new driver. I think an arrangement like this might have been a big help to you in your situation.

The way I understand your post, this creep waited for more than an hour outside this shop after following you / harassing you for quite some distance. That would be menacing behavior in the States, but many times the police in Taiwan won’t do anything if they don’t HAVE to.

Carry pepper spray/perfume or something you can spray into an attacker’s eyes, carry your phone, and be aware of your surroundings.

Good luck.

6

:noway: Wow. Just wow.

Thanks guys for all the information and kind, encouraging words. I have found a lot of what you’ve told me useful and eye-opening.

Just to clarify a few things, we’re both women. So would it be naive of me to believe a guy wouldn’t go through the trouble and possibly embarrassment of calling up a horde of his other buddies to gang up on two women?..I guess I shouldn’t put it past them…

Also, the psycho was already with two of his friends, neither of whom were really on his side. One of them, a girl, tried to get in-between the guy and my gf to figure out what had happened before he stepped around her and got back into my gf’s face. His other friend, the guy, tried to get him to stop following us. Both friends eventually gave up, went to get their car and met up with him at the store where we were waiting. I don’t think the guy had any hoodlum friends to help him out, or thought of calling them. I think he just felt like he had something to prove and temporarily lost his mind.

Finally, we didn’t run because 1) we had the leashes of two very large dogs in our hands, and they were dragging 2) he wasn’t running, so I figured if he wasn’t running, I certainly wasn’t going to start bolting so that he could chase and possibly catch even faster before we even got to the street, 3) and we were very deep inside a park, and so we were actually quite far away from the closest street with decent traffic. We just chose to work with what we had, to walk quickly through areas of the park with more pedestrian traffic. Lucky for us, we had one or two old ladies along the way notice something was up and stall the guy.

I called the women’s hotline again, and they told me once more that as far as law enforcement was concerned, there was nothing anyone could do. And as far as self-defense goes, I “shouldn’t” use a stick, nor pepper spray, nor even the back of my hands to defend myself because first of all, it could get me in trouble since it’s illegal to hit first, and second, it just wouldn’t be very nice. :no-no:
So much for that plan. :doh:

7

My take on safety as a woman in Taiwan is that there are probably fewer threats than in England (my home-country) and that visibility as a foreigner either makes you much safer or much more in danger, depending on the situation. Despite the fact that England is far more dangerous, statistically, I’ve never really felt myself to be in any danger back home because I can read the social cues in a given situation much better. Couple of times in Taiwan I felt that I was lucky to have got out unscathed, though.

A foreigner shouting loudly in learner Chinese "Colour wolf! Argh! Why are you touching my arse?!’ at huge decibellage will always see off the stealth weirdo. The loud aggressive loose cannon who wants to prove something is always harder to play, though.

8

What an arsehole.

One thing that occurred to me, reading your account, xiaojuan, is that something that might have defused the situation and brought the idiot to his senses would have been if you’d stopped walking away and pretended to burst into tears. As it was, both of you were, completely justifiably of course, angry and aggressive in return, as you were trying to remove yourself from the situation. It takes two to fight. As women, we have the option to be weak without losing face.

It wouldn’t have been very satisfying to back down but it would have changed the tone of the exchange and shown the guy up for the bullying POS he is. At the end of the day, all you wanted is for him to stop. As his friends were already partly on your side this would have got them even more firmly on your side, too. I’ve luckily never experienced such a situation, it’s just a thought.

9

Oh man my opinion of the police has dropped EVEN lower than it was, now that I found out you were both ladies.

10

Figured you were a woman.

The correct response would’ve been to yell very loudly that you were asking him nicely before somebody else went to sue him as soon as he started getting aggressive. And if he stayed aggressive to take out your phone and call the cops then and there. And make sure you’re doing the very loud/crying/screaming thing that everyone else has mentioned.

If you were a guy that response could get you beaten up, but as a woman you’ve got a lot more leverage. Lots of Taiwanese men like to play the white knight (as long as it’s not domestic…O.O;) and old ladies will always try to save people.

But yeah. Be more aggressive then they are and play up the drama. And try to get the hell out of the way ASAP. If he thought you were more aggressive and assertive it’s likely that he wouldn’t have followed you; bullies don’t hit people they think are going to hit back.

And use common sense - if anything like this happens make sure you’re somewhere public. If you DO get followed go straight to the nearest police station. Always act cute and helpless to the police and fierce to the assholes.

11

I honestly think you should write a column about this incident, post it EVERYWHERE, ifya got the cops names or badge numbers, itd be even better.

Make the faceless lose face…seems to be the only thing that causes change in this country in terms of law enforcement and progress I have to say.

12

I will admit, my gf and I are not the sort of people who burst into tears on cue. We don’t do it naturally, and we certainly won’t do it so that we can play out the stereotypically “weak and helpless feminine” role in front of dickish men. I’m usually pretty reserved, but my gf has a really big mouth and talks with an incredibly dramatic flair. Believe me, we might not have been sobbing, but we were certainly getting attention.

What I’m really appalled by is the fact that we were at a dog play where there were tons of people, many of whom we had met before. During the incident, not a single one of them stood up for my gf, despite the fact that the other guy was the one who clearly started it all. All of them were kan-ning the renao, but not doing much else to help. And this guy was seriously creepy. When I shoved him, he had this sick smile on his face, and he kept stepping into me, telling me to do it again. He clearly wanted to rile us up, whether it was by getting us to hit back or to start crying. He clearly had no problem getting aggressive with a pair of girls, and he was enjoying it. After I realized this, I stopped pushing because there was no stopping this guy even if I were going to go the aggressive route, because the next step would’ve been punching him out. And as many of you have pointed out already, that’s a big no-no here (unless it’s a last resort.)

13

Confuzius, what you said is something I have thought very seriously about before. I think this is an issue that really needs more attention. I have a very hard time wrapping my head around the idea that Taiwanese would 1) allow themselves to be this vulnerable to predation, and 2) let the authorities or the police stand by and watch people get hurt before they cart bodies away and decide to do anything about it.

After my first year or two of living in Taiwan, I began to notice and be more aware of news of ridiculous abuse and violent crimes that happen in Taiwan. The ways in which they are dealt with are at times completely outrageous, nonsensical, and unfair to the victims. These days I feel like I’ve read too many travel sources and heard too many people preach that Taiwan has a low crime rate, and that there’s “nothing to worry about”, but I’m starting to believe it only feels safe to us because we simply don’t hear enough about what actually happens around us. I read English newspapers on occasion, and usually I read blogs. And from those sources, it doesn’t feel like a lot happens. But then I take a glance at Taiwanese newspapers, or I go home to my family’s and watch television, and it feels like someone (or several someones) get run over, cut, beaten, or raped each day. I have a feeling that Taiwan may be a small country, and it may seemingly has fewer crimes than the UK or the US, but it wouldn’t necessarily mean the percentage or frequency of crime is lower.

I’ve always worried about crime happening to me, my gf, or our dogs before. Guys have followed my girlfriend before, but not nearly as closely. There have been catcalls, threats to kidnap our dogs, and people who hold a grudge threatening us with their cellphones and cameras, calling cops on us because it makes them feel better about themselves. But I have never felt so terrified about crime in the same way before today because I’ve never had someone threaten me so up close, and then in a true time of need, had the police show up to announce that they were ready to desert me.

Again, crime may not happen as frequently here, but it happens. And it only needs to happen once for you to really get hurt or find yourself dead. I don’t want to have multiple experiences so I can get better at defending myself. I want to know that chances are, the one time it happens, I have the law (or a law) on my side, that I can take matters into my own hands, or know there there is at least someone with authority that I can count on. All of this, this we’re not going to begin seeking justice until we’re sure you’re dead bs does NOT make me feel safe here. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

14

Well, you know, if the police said they wouldn’t do anything unless you wanted them to arrest the guy for assault, then . . . have them arrest the guy for assault. Let the courts hash it out after that.

Or if the cops aren’t even willing to do that, try to be in front of a video camera when he pushes you, and then turn around and kick him in the balls as hard as possible. The great thing about it then is, sure, you kicking him in the balls is caught on camera, but SO IS HIS PUSHING YOU FIRST.

15

I think this situ you describe is not typical. And the guy is possibly off his rocker or at the very very least is a guy who likes to bully other people. I doubt he would do this to a local gangster.

The thing is in Taiwan, even talking to someone who you don’t know in a manner that is less then friendly can get a violent response. And things can escalate very quickly.

Usually people who are bottom feeders are especially sensitive to this.

People have been known to be knifed after “looking at someone wrong”.

That is why most Taiwanese rarely confront other Taiwanese.

Had a couple of scooter punks cut in front of me and nearly got knocked down just before a red light. So i just said, watch it , be careful. Not in a particularly mean way, but their response was "what you gonna do bout it ? I can call up my buds and we can all have a discussion ".

I just said “méishì, méishì”. Which basically means no problem. Its not disrespectful to back down from a fight. Best learn to pick your battles very carefully on the rock.

The guys dog knocked you down. And you wanted to let the dogs owner know he should watch his dogs better. So you told him. Most people would have said “sorry” . But you found one guy that sees it as a personal challenge.

Since you two were not capable of physically handling the guy, you should have just said “mai shih, mai shih”

But doing what a lot of people wouldve done and arguing your point, wouldnt work with this type of guy. He escalates it by pushing with a water bottle.

One of you pushes him back. Now its a physical confrontation.

Especially if his friends are with him, its now a face thing.

And since he faces no real threat from you two, he feels free to take it to the next level.

You run and he chases. Because he feels no threat from you.

The police come and you don’t want to press charges so they are powerless to do anything.

My suggestion in future, just remember a few points when in public:

  1. Bottom feeders are especially sensitive to any sort of perceived challenge to their integrity.
  2. There are lots of bottom feeders around in Taiwan.
  3. Pick your battles carefully. Don’t engage without being able to win. Expect instant escalation of the “conflict”.
  4. Best tactic is always to disengage , unless your very life depends on it, because it MIGHT.
  5. Don’t try to “teach” a strange person in public a lesson , unless
    (a) you have to
    (b) you are able to

Any challenge can be considered grounds for a fight. Even a word pointing out an error of one’s animal or children.

And one more note, its not just in Taiwan that such incidents can occur. And people other then Taiwanese people could escalate a conflict with a simple exchange or words.

So to repeat (good anywhere)

  1. deflate, don’t escalate a bad situation
  2. don’t try to “teach” anyone in public about a wrong from them or their children or their animals, unless
    (a) you have to
    (b) you are able to.

p.s. glad u guys are ok, it could have been worse.

p.p.s. not saying we should live our lives by being wimps, but clearly choosing ones battles and being prepared to battle is the order of the day in our modern society.

16

True as can be, in the rock, and pretty much everywhere else in the world. Bottomfeeders react to almost nothing, and more if they have any kind of advantage over you (physical strength, weapons, number of people) and sometimes that advantage can elude a quick glance, so expect it from a quick violent react-er…
Saying that, even I wouldn’t expect that kind of reaction from someone in a Dog play, midday, in public, to women, and specially one who took a potential dangerous blow (hitting your head IS a big deal even if you feel OK immediately afterwards), but I guess morale isn’t in this guys shopping list… Defuse, evade, and if you have someone that can bail you out, be sure to have their number at hand…

17

I kinda learned this lesson, many times before, but never had anything so extreme happen. I remember when we moved into KHH the first year, a lot of people had more of an issue with my gf because she was white. Her walking the dogs and letting them pee, whether on the road off the sidewalk, or on the grass in the park, was an issue, even though it wasn’t one with anyone else. She would ignore people who hassled her, but they’d continue to follow her around with cameras, and threaten to call the police and EPA even though she didn’t legally do anything wrong. We’ve lived in the same neighborhood for four years now, and now that we’re familiar, she’s become less of a target. But how shitty was that, she didn’t have to do anything wrong or even start anything, and people treated her like that because she was an easy target.

I was walking the dogs to the park once, and I gave a guy and his wife a very brief look because they were driving his scooter on the sidewalk and behind me so close it felt like his motor was breathing on my ankle I think I was already having a bad day, so my look was probably the kind of look that Tommy was describing, but I didn’t say anything. The guy immediately noticed, parked his scooter and started stalking me and taking photos of one of my dogs peeing in the grass. He called me over to “teach me a lesson”, to tell me I did something wrong because I let the dog do her thing and didn’t “pick it up,” and that he was going to call the police on me so that I could get what I deserved. I was lucky I had some other friends who were already in the park, heard his BS, and challenged him with a phone call of their own to the police. As soon as that happened, dude hopped back on his scooter and sped off, wife disappeared elsewhere, police showed up nearly half an hour later saying they couldn’t have done anything anyway, asking why we wasted their time.

I’ve had a lot of bad experiences like this in Kaohsiung. And I’ve heard worse things from my Taiwanese friends. Perhaps what that guy did yesterday was not typical, but the (passive) aggressiveness and vindictiveness of people certainly seem to be common here.

Anyway, enough of those stories for now. Gf and I are both from NYC, and having grown up there, we know that it’s really stupid to start or escalate a fight. I didn’t feel that my girlfriend was being rude in the beginning, and she certainly wasn’t making it out like she was trying to pick an argument with him. He wasn’t watching his dog, she let him know what happened. But he didn’t only push first, and he didn’t push once, he continued to push. If it had been me, I would’ve either done the same thing as my gf, and moved him out of my space, or at least pushed the bottle off my chest. With the way you talk about it, it sounds like both of those would’ve been the “wrong” thing to do. But it’s asinine a man or a stranger should ever be allowed to get that close to a woman, and the only response she’s allowed to give is rolling on her back and whimpering for mercy. She can’t even call the cops? For real? We tried to drop it when it wasn’t worth continuing the conversation and walked away. That should’ve been disengagement enough even if it’s not “acting the wimp”.

18

Well it’s unusual behaviour, as the dog knocked you down and your were injured you were actually able to sue him. Don’t waste too much time dwelling on this.

19

That would probably be a very bad idea. The “he started it, so he deserved whatever he got” approach is not sanctioned by law in Taiwan. Basically, the bad guy would then have video evidence that the woman had disproportionately assaulted him. Bring on the lawsuits! Or at least that’s my understanding of the law in Taiwan. I could be wrong.

20

It seemed like calling the police was a mistake when I was the one who ended up getting bullied by the police. They forced me to be outside with the offender to answer his questions, but wouldn’t let me speak about the fact that the man was following and threatening us, and he wouldn’t let us leave. He was incredibly aggressive in questioning me, and he just wanted to know if I wanted to go to court and whether or not he had to file paperwork.

I will be honest, I don’t really know how lawsuits work here. Probably one of the reasons I avoid it altogether. I just always assumed that since I was the foreigner, chances were, I would lose. And after some cases I read about, common sense, ethics and morality don’t appear to play much of a role when judges make their rulings. I simply figured it wasn’t worth it.

A lot of you insist that I should always press charges. One of you said that I should ask to when speaking to the police, but then I’m not obligated to follow through with it. I’d really like to know what the point of all this is. Because it seemed to me like whether or not I decided to sue, the police weren’t going to do anything about the stalker standing in front of me. Why is it so important that a person sue here when the police have no powers of arrest, they were probably going to misplace my paperwork, and the court is probably not going to hear me out? I’m not challenging here. I genuinely want to know how this works.