Assaulted once, what to do the 2nd time?

[rocky raccoon]

Hello,

I thought I'd write to you guys because I liked the advice that was given to the guy whose girlfriend was being hassled and harassed.

My situation involves 2 foreigners. I was assaulted by a French national last year. I'm from N. America. It was an unprovoked assault with many witnesses. (I learned that if I would have fought back, I couldn't have taken him to court.)

So after getting some legal counsel, I pressed charges.

However, it wasn't possible for me to attend all of the court hearings to see the case through until the end. We settled out of court for the amount of 12,000NT. I did this because I thought the bureaucratic process would show him that he can't just go around assaulting people.

This man is married to a local Taiwanese woman. The whole reason he chose to pick on me was because he accused me of stealing his email password and doing malicious things to his computer. He has also falsely accused me of having sex with his wife. Another friend was also accused of the same but was never attacked.

This man is mentally unstable. We knew each other socially through a community team, but were never friends. The thing that annoyed me the most happened in the hearing. Even though we settled, we went in front of a judge so there was a record of the incident. She treated it like a spat between a family or friends, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE both foreigners.

So I thought everything would be fine but now I've received word because he's been talking past members of our team. They all are aware of his sickness/condition and each time he calls, they suggest he should seek medical attention...but he gets aggressive and shoots down their recommendations).

Now he's saying he wants to kill me and that it's not over. It's like he's not scared at all of the consequences of his behavior. I'm frightened because I really enjoy my life in Taiwan and I'm happy here. I don't like the feeling of walking around having to look over my shoulder because of a story that was dreamed up in this man's head.

I want to go to the police but I'm afraid that:
1. It will provoke my attacker to do something even more violent.
2. The police won't take such death threats seriously.

He didn't threaten me personally, but through a 3rd party so I don't know if that is a valid threat? The 3rd party said he'd be willing to make a statement against the my attacker.

These were the exact events that occurred before he attacked me the first time so I don't want to wait until it is too late...but I'm not sure what the most effective step would be. If you have any experience with this type of situation or could help me out with any advice, please let me know.

Thank you very much.

[TainanCowboy]

My suggestion would be to 1st,
Find out who your neighborhood "leader" is and discuss it with him/her. It may take some work to make sure they understand the situation, but this might be very helpful in getting this known. If it isn't already.
Its kinda weird how much actual juice these people can have in the local 'hood. If you can get their ear and make them understand, it may go a long way to calming this down.

I say calming this down because I do not think this will resolve the problem. Unfortunately this sounds like a time-bomb waiting to go off.
Best of luck to you and yours.

[jdsmith]

Keep a record of every incident and get witnesses if you can. Taiwan is a small place for the foreign community. Maybe some peer pressure from his friends would help too.

If someone threatened to kill me, I would take his presence as a threat. Avoid him.

In your case, a 3rd party threat is some weiner spouting off at the mouth. Go enjoy your life.

good luck

[sandman]

She treated it like a spat between a family or friends, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE both foreigners.

Or because you know each other socially. On the same (sports?) team, in fact.
Anyway, you said yourself -- you went before a judge so there would be a record of the case. Take that to the cops and make a complaint. It will be enough to make them take the complaint seriously, I'm sure. If the local cops don't take it seriously, the foreign affairs cops definitely WILL, particularly since there's already an official paper trail and a logged judicial process.
Once you've done that, you could also let it be known through the same blabbermouth third party that you've been back to the cops, that they're aware of the threats and that they'll know exactly who to collar if anything should happen to you.

[Mother Theresa]

She treated it like a spat between a family or friends, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE both foreigners.

Or because you know each other socially. On the same (sports?) team, in fact.

Or because, without photos or other such evidence, the judge has very little way of knowing who's lying, you or him.

Judges encounter personal squabbles all the time between people of questionable credibility who pose no real threat to each other. If you believe this case is different, you need to prove that to the judge. Oral testimony is one thing, but you should gather all the physical evidence you can. He made a threat through a 3d party who offered to testify on your behalf -- great, ask him to put that statement down in writing now, before he forgets the details or changes his mind. Something like this:

1. I, ______, am a citizen of _____ and have Taiwan ARC card number _______. A copy of my ARC card is attached hereto.
2. On the ___ day of _____, 2007, at about _____ a.m, at ________[location] I was approached by _________, a _______ citizen who I am acquainted with because we have both played on the same _____ team since about ____, 200_.
3. _______ appeared to be very angry and he made the following statement about _______, a ______ citizen who I am also acquainted with because he has also played on the same ____ team since about ____, 200__: "If that fucker ever so much as looks at my wife again, I'll rip his fucking balls off and shove them down his throat" [or whatever he said; a direct quote is better than paraphrased, and it's more serious if it appears to be an imminent, plausible threat of actual violence, as opposed to a vague, general rant].
4. I have heard ______ make similar threats to others in the past, and I know he can have a very violent temper. For example, in about _____, 200__, I witnessed him [describe past violent act]. Therefore, I consider the threat that he made on ____, 200_ concerning ______ to be a very serious and credible threat.
5. I affirm that the above is true and correct and if called as a witness I would testify truthfully regarding the above facts.

Sign Name
______________
Print Name


Get similar affidavits from any other witnesses to serious credible threats or violent acts. Take photos of any damage he causes to any personal property. If you're real lucky and he leaves a threat on your answering machine or puts one in writing, save them.

Go to the police if you really believe there is a serious risk of him committing violence to you or your property in the immediate future, and provide them with copies of such evidence (save originals for court, if needed).

And most importantly, stay the hell away from him, don't harass him, taunt him, talk about him, mess with his stuff, or screw his wife again ( ).

[rocky raccoon]

Thanks for all of the great advice guys!

Tainan Cowboy - I didn't know about the neighborhood leader. I'll look into it and see where he/she lives. Cheers for that.

jdsmith - Keeping a record of anything further that happens is a good idea.

sandman - I'll have to find my previous paperwork and will definitely take it up to the police station where we filed the original charge to let them know it's happened again.

Mother Theresea - Excellent stuff. You're well-worded, professional approach is greatly appreciated. I'll do this ASAP.

In a busy judge's eyes, you're right, we pose no real threat to each other so it's good to have something in writing from the witness that originally heard the threat.

That's a perfect model for a statement if I've ever read one. (I haven't, but if I had, it would probably go like that.)

Thanks again everyone!

[Hartzell]

Without getting into exact details, in a general way could you tell us where you live, and the situation of the building? In other words, is there a locked front door but otherwise "free access" to the building? Is there a building guard station?

Do you have a rental contract? Have you considered the possibility of moving to another city? (or does that not solve anything?) I am not trying to be humorous.

[rocky raccoon]

Hartzell,

Thank you for your interest. I can add some general details to the story. I live on the first floor of a walk-in apartment on a quiet alley. No building guard but the front door does lock. Man, now that I'm writing it down, it doesn't sound too safe. Yes I rent and I don't have any intentions of moving to another city at this point.

The reason I didn't pursue the charges in the first place and settled out of court was because I was living 2 hours out of Taipei and couldn't attend all of the court dates that would have been necessary to get a fair result.

What is happening now is exactly what happened before the last attack. My assailant called a few people saying he was going to get me. We all took it lightly because we didn't really know the guy that well. He was a shady peripheral character if you know what I mean. One of those types that shows up for a pint or two but never really has a conversation or "gels" with the group.

Thanks to Mother Theresa, I have a good template to follow. I sent it to my friend and he agreed to write down the threats. Due to my work schedule and the upcoming holiday, I'll take it to the police station first thing next week. I hope they'll look into it and take some preventative measures, but I know this guy isn't afraid of the local police. He's actually fairly charismatic and a smooth talker when he focuses. Even if they visit his house and talk to him, I think it could just upset him and he'll look at it like a game.

I'm torn between stirring up more shit or just sitting quietly, waiting for the next attack to occur. There seems to be no rhyme or reason when it comes to his logic which is what frightens me the most.

I truly feel sorry for this man because it must really be painful to walk around with such thoughts floating around inside. It's just not fair that I was the one on the receiving end of his delusional outburst.

You guys have been a big help and any other suggestions or comments are welcome.

[sandman]

That statement from MT will probably help, if it's written in Chinese and has chops from "important government departments on it" but its the paper you got from the last settlement you really need. You need to find that paper or if you've lost it, see if the court still has a record of it. I'd say you are in a reasonably strong position if you have that. Not from getting another beating, but at least to really stick it to the guy after he does you over.

But really though -- you say this bloke's on the "periphery" of your social group, which suggests that you are more "in" with them. Why can't you just ask them to help out here? Like get them to warn him that if he gives you a doing, he'll be dealing with 10 other blokes who'll REALLY give him some, or at least won't be tolerating his presence in the future.

[Truant]

Learn some basic self defense - take up a martial art or something similar.

It may give you more confidence to get on with your life at the very least.