Daily Lessons from Life 05 February 2010

"Kaohsiung police taped cavorting with hostesses - Fri, Feb 05, 2010 The China Post/Asia News Network

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan -- The Kaohsiung police force was in the news headlines yesterday after a tape resurfaced which showed close to ten police officers drinking and dancing with female hostesses.

The scandal was reportedly exposed by one of the parties involved in a local Jui Feng night market dispute, said local media.

The clash is over the night market management and the vendors.

The management had reportedly raised the rent and disallowed vendors to sublet."

Well this the TGIF (Thank God Is Friday) Night so I will comment frivolously on this amusing news. I am sure not many people familiar with how police in some parts of the world operate.

Lessons for me are:

1. to let your hair down once in a while and play hard and smart is alright for most vocations except those in the laws enforcement arena! While some local custom demand that the police be closed to the people, there is still a line, invisible or otherwise, that cannot be crossed. When you do crossed it, you will have to face the consequence responsibly;

2. I was in Jui Feng last December while on the group tour with my family. It is a small town with a university right next to the night market that reported was in the clash between the management and the vendors. I can appreciate how the police officers would have been invited to have a drink to facilitate good relationship. I am not so sure about the hostesses though. Thought the officers should had known better?;

3. this incident also revealed the technology that can be deployed to spy on people, unsuspecting and innocent ones sometimes. There is really no escaping if someone is determined to 'candid camera-ed' you when you play hard and smart. Taken out of context, whatever you do may be amplified and twisted into something seriously wrong! Hopefully whenever one find oneself in such a situation that the 3rd party will be willing to listen to your side of the story before passing judgment. In this report, there was no explanation by the police personnel involved except that most of them, if not all, have been transferred out of the Jui Feng jurisdiction!

Enjoy your drink if you like to have one. Just remembered to switch off the light and do not drive while under the influence of alcohol!