Stopped by the Coppers!!! Or "I Barely Got Away"

Time for an adventure. Yesterday (Monday), I went to pay our internet bill. You can only pay in cold, hard cash. The company does not takes checks, credit cards or on-line payments. Kind of ironic to have an internet provider that does not have an on-line payment option, isn't it? We have to pay by the megabyte, and Rebekah does her school on-line, hence our bill is somewhat expensive. This month, it was over $200.

Driving the motor-bike, I set out for what would become a great adventure. There are ATMs at most Cal-Tex stations here. Unfortunately, I stopped at what must be the only one without an ATM. Still needing to get money, I decided to head to the bank. Go for the sure thing. Because this particular intersection is the busiest one in town, I wisely decided to make the block and head out. Too bad for me, the street I turned onto was a one-way street. There is a sign showing that, but it's covered up and you can't see it until you've already turned onto the street. Plus, I had to look for traffic, which has no right of way and just flows in all directions at once.

There were two policemen at the corner and, of course, they stopped me. They had a driver's manual to show me a picture of the sign. I told them I did not see a sign. They let me walk back to look and sure enough, it was there, however well concealed it was. They asked for my license and I gave them the laminated COPY that I carry. They told me there was a fine and I told them to write me the ticket. They asked me to just pay the fine and forget about the ticket. Asking how much it was, I found out they wanted $10 which they obviously were going to pocket. I told them they could write me the ticket instead.

We went around and around for awhile and I just sat on my bike. They asked to see the bike registration so I showed it to them. Still, they insisted on $10. Soon, however, they pulled over a native girl, who was also going the wrong way. She offered them 1,000 riel (equivalent to 25 cents). They wouldn't take that, so she offered more. I was watching the entire exchange like we used to watch for Ronda's homemade bread to come out of the oven. I'm not exactly sure how much she paid, but it wasn't more than 3 or 4 thousand riel (75 cents or a dollar). Once she left, I told the officers I would pay what she paid. Pulling out their book, they showed me 40,000 riel ($10). I nearly laughed out loud. The officer had pulled the old switch-a-roo to try to make it look like the girl had paid that much.

They tried telling me they would keep my license if I didn't pay. I told them that was fine, it was just a copy. (On advice of others, we only carry a copy for exactly this reason. If the police get your real license they can keep it until you pay whatever they ask.) They lowered the fine to $5. I told them it was still too much. The waiting game continued. I had my backpack with me, so I got out a book and started reading. After a minute or so, they asked how much I would pay. We agreed on $2 and I went on my merry way. Oh, even though the street I wanted was only 10 yards away, I made the block to be sure I was going the right way.

Justice is fair. Just for a price.

Rich