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[1st Sgt Welsh]

Hi Guys,

Anyone had much experience with this? Happened to me for the first time very recently. The police appear to be doing a sweep to make sure that foreigners have their residency books and I guess, while they're at it, to ensure that no unmarried Vietnamese women are being corrupted outside the prescribed, legal hours . Anyway a couple of cops started banging on my apartment door late one work night a while ago. I checked the peephole, saw it was them and then quietly left them to it. They gave up after about 15 minutes or so .

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had this happen to them and what was the upshot. I've heard from some people that they have a tendency, as soon as you open up, to barge into your home and start snooping around. Needless to say, I want absolutely nothing to do with these corrupt muppets so if they come around again, I'll probably just revert back into ninja mode . However, it just occurred to me that some of the 'older hands' here might have some good tales about this sort of thing so, if you do, it would be great to from you .

[vabeckele]

I'm sorry to hear this has happened. It may be innocent enough, but more than likely, not.

What I did was go down to the local ward's police office and make all of it official. Get them to write it all down and all that ho ha and it should put a stop to it - I very much doubt that you will get any legal help but at least they will be a bit more weary the next time.

Ah, and get the landlord involved, it will take the focus off of you.

I hope this gets sorted out - Good luck and pm me if necessary.

[ExpatLuke]

Luckily my landlord is some sort of big up and up with some officials so I've never been bothered the police. It would definitely make me a bit put out if it happened to me though. Good decision to just keep the door locked.

[toiyeuthitmeo]

Hi,

Good work. Prentend not to be home. If they've got real cause to fine you or investigate you, they will, through the landlord or property manager. Otherwise, they're just there to bust your chops and try to get a bribe. If they are lucky enough to catch you coming or going, you don't understand them, at all, even if they're speaking passable English (more possible these days than in the past).

Has happened to me three times in several years living here, and every time, they'd show up two or three times over a week or so, and that'd be the end of it.

Now, what if they're making a courtesy call to tell you that the local knife slasher is on the loose with a picture with your face on it? Hmmmm.... I'll take my chances assuming they're on the hunt for some tea money.

[1st Sgt Welsh]

Thanks guys. It is/was just a routine sweep and my neighbors had the same thing. Anyway I've got no intention of opening up for them. Apparently it takes them about half an hour to go through all the paperwork to verify the residency details and I've got better things to do at eleven o'clock on a work night . If they come around again I guess they can just take out their frustration on the landlord's door. No skin off my nose. The only people I will feel a bit sorry for is the neighbors, but, then again, I won't be the one who is creating the disturbance.

I don't want sound like a jackass and if the cops had just left a polite card in the letterbox or something stating why they wanted to talk to me and requesting me to go down to the local station, at a convenient time, then I would have. However, incessantly pounding on someone's door at some ungodly hour, when they have done nothing wrong, because of some routine paperwork seems more their style so screw 'em. Besides, I've asked around and they have no right to enter the property without cause and there is absolutely no legal obligation for someone to drop everything and respond to gentle tapping on a front door .

[Prof.Gringo]

Heard from a Canadian female teacher that the local PD visited her hotel room at 2AM and ransacked everything, opened all her luggage, checked all the drawers, closets etc... Looking for...drugs???

Might have had something to do with the freak show tats she likes to show off everywhere she goes...

No cops ever knock on my door, but I like to keep a few connections with the local party brass... Nice to be able to call somebody from the People's Committe up and let them sort it all out