Media reports from Taitung yesterday alleged that a Caucasian man with a gun attempted to rob a grocery store on Monday night, but expatriates in the area see the accusation as another episode in a nine-month-long string of police harassment.
Police say the grocery-store clerk thought she saw the outline of a gun being pointed at her through a bag held by a foreigner, said Hou Shan-rung (侯善容) of Taitung's foreign affairs police unit.
"But she is not sure," said Hou, who added that the police did not have any suspects and were still investigating whether or not a crime had been committed.
The clerk called police around 8pm Monday night to report an attempted robbery, telling officers that the man fled from the store on a bicycle. She said nothing had been stolen from the store.
The woman could not clearly describe the man and failed to identify a suspect yesterday at a police station, according to three foreign men who met her in an effort to clear their names.
The woman was brought to the station after the three went to complain about police harassment, including illegal searches, officers obtaining keys to at least one man's home and spreading rumors that the men were drug dealers.
There are about 80 foreigners in Taitung County, including about 20 English-language teachers. Within the last year, two teachers have been charged with various crimes and eventually prosecuted for forgery of documents -- college diplomas -- related to work visas.
One man -- one of the three who complained of police harassment -- says he's frightened that he is the target of a setup, even though the clerk did not recognize him.
"I woke up this morning and suddenly I'm accused of armed robbery," he told the Taipei Times yesterday. "It seems to me that I'm the prime suspect."
The man, an English teacher, said the police grilled him about his whereabouts Monday evening.
The man said he had been surfing at Dongho. He said one officer repeatedly asked him, "What time did you leave Dongho? Your innocence depends on it."
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