Following the experience in “Collision with a BMW Thug Before Okayama Toll Station”, “Meizou-go” was rear-ended by a BMW 7-series driven by a young thug in Okayama, Kaohsiung. Due to the other party’s hit-and-run, my friend Hsieh Tsung-hsiang (Xiao Xiang) and I waited on the shoulder of the highway for the highway police to arrive.
The Otherworld Time of the 5th Highway Police Brigade
After a while, and another while, and yet another while, officers from the 5th Highway Police Brigade of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior finally arrived in their “Red Zebra” patrol car.
The officers, neatly dressed in their uniforms, got out to ask about the situation and then instructed us to follow the patrol car back to the station for a report. However, to my surprise, the police led me through the large vehicle toll booth. At the moment I was forced to pay the 50 TWD toll, a surge of resentment rose within me—my car was hit, and yet the government still managed to snag some money from me.
Upon arriving at the Okayama Station of the 5th Highway Police Brigade, the police followed standard procedure and had me take a breathalyzer test.
[!TIP] Even as a victim, under the judicial system of the Republic of China 🇹🇼, preserving more evidence is always beneficial. Standard procedures are not just obligations; they ensure that later, the opposing lawyer cannot falsely claim that the accident was caused by your own intoxication.
After completing the report, the police did not provide the legendary “Case Report Receipt” (Triple Receipt). They only gave me a certificate of the accident, stating that I could use this to file an insurance claim. We spent the entire afternoon messing around at the station. The officers’ movements were filled with a sense of “leisurely” detachment from the world, as if time existed in another dimension, completely derailing our planned travel rhythm.
By the time Xiao Xiang and I walked out of the station, it had been two hours since the incident, and night had already fallen.
[!NOTE] I think, at certain moments, police stations might be places specifically designed to “punish” law-abiding victims.
A Miserable Journey to Southern Taiwan
By the time I finally drove the damaged Meizou-go to our planned campsite, the gate was already locked.
The sweltering heat of the southern summer show its power early the next morning. Eventually, we couldn’t take it and drove to a motel in Fangliao, turned the air conditioning to the max, showered, and fell into a deep sleep until the checkout reminder rang.
For the next few days, we continued to wander around in the dented Meizou-go, until we returned to Tamsui and immediately took it to the original manufacturer’s repair shop for a major overhaul. Looking at the “fat sheep entering the tiger’s mouth” look in the receptionist’s eyes, I knew the repair bill would be staggering.
Insurance Company’s Hardline and Legal Loopholes
Meizou-go was insured with a simple “Limited Body Insurance.” Initially, the insurance company was extremely hardline, claiming they wouldn’t pay because “the hit-and-run vehicle had not been found.”
I spent some time studying the insurance terms I had signed and unexpectedly discovered a fatal legal loophole. Based on this point, I successfully forced the insurance company to cough up the claim money.
[!CAUTION] Ironically, when it was time to renew the insurance the following year, this legal loophole had already been “fixed” by the savvy insurance actuaries.
Appealing the “Buried Case” via the NPA Director’s Mailbox
Before the insurance claim was successful, there was another unpleasant encounter with the 5th Highway Brigade. After finishing the report at the time, the officer seemed to just want to get it over with; no immediate search was initiated, and no triple receipt was given. in practice, this was likely what is known as “burying a case.”
Later, because the insurance company insisted on finding the culprit, I called the station to ask about the progress. Soon after, I received an official letter requiring me to travel south to Okayama, Kaohsiung, specifically to confront the BMW 7-series owner.
It was a day of rare, massive torrential rain. I took a bus from Taipei to Okayama and then a taxi to the remote station, only to find the police officers there leisurely washing the floor with hoses.
The officer in charge left me high and dry in the lobby, as if my existence had long been erased from his memo.
After waiting for several hours, the BMW owner never showed up. A handsome, well-dressed officer finally came out and said nonchalantly, “He’s not coming, you can go home now.”
I was stunned. I had crossed half the territory of the Republic of China 🇹🇼, spent money on travel and a whole day of leave, and even lost a day’s salary from the patent firm, just to receive such a haphazardly sent random notification?
[!WARNING] The police couldn’t even confirm if the other party would attend, and had no mandatory binding power, yet they allowed the victim to rush from the northernmost part of Taiwan to the southernmost just to “try their luck.”
Angry Fingers and Internal Affairs Intervention
Returning to Tamsui with emotions on the verge of explosion, I sat in front of my computer after a shower. My fingers hammered the keyboard like a blur as I sent complaint letters to the Kaohsiung County Magistrate’s Mailbox and the NPA Director’s Mailbox.
Within less than a day, the Police Internal Affairs Bureau proactively contacted me, promising a specialist would handle it. The irony was that the “specialist” turned out to be the same handsome detective who had left me waiting in the lobby.
This officer was flashily dressed, not looking at all like a humble grassroots policeman. This time he had learned his lesson and asked me to just go to the Taishan Highway Police Station in the north to finish the report. I was filled with doubt: if it could be handled nearby, why force me south to Okayama in the first place?
During our phone conversation, I could clearly feel his complaints arising from being “supervised” by his superiors. He even questioned why I hadn’t mentioned the other party’s threatening behavior earlier, as if the responsibility lay with me.
[!IMPORTANT] Instead of expecting the police system to correct itself, it’s better to proactively seek legal weapons.
Ultimately, before the police contacted me again, I had already completed the claim using the insurance loophole. I didn’t bother with that handsome detective anymore; I let him keep being chased by the bureaucracy. My goal was always clear: repair Meizou-go and ensure that the victim didn’t spend a single cent of unfair money.
Information:
- Unit Name: Okayama Station, 5th Highway Police Brigade, National Police Agency
- Address: No. 61, Ln. 80, Dazhuang Rd., Okayama Dist., Kaohsiung City 820
- Phone: 07-6282059
發表評論