Victim Narrates the Incident
Taiwan Strait Network, October 18th (Strait Herald reporter Li Liyu and Xu Huirong / text, Wu Fang / photo) - "I was robbed, and bystanders helped chase the robber. My daughter stopped a police car for help, but unexpectedly, the people in the car told her to call 110, then drove away!" A-fang, who was robbed near Chengxi Road in Tong'an, reported this experience to our newspaper.
At around 5:30 PM on October 16th, A-fang (pseudonym) rode a motorcycle to Chengxi Road to pick up her daughter Xiao Hua (pseudonym) from school.
"At that time, there were many people and cars on the road picking up children. I was riding very slowly. When I reached an intersection near a maternity and infant products store, suddenly, a young man with a 50-centimeter-long knife rushed over and placed the knife on my right forearm, saying 'get off.' Frightened, I quickly took my daughter from the backseat," A-fang recounted yesterday to the reporter, still shaken by the event.
A-fang said: "The robber was about to escape on a motorcycle when I realized it, and I shouted 'robbery!' Immediately, three men from a nearby clothing store chased after him. At that moment, a police car passed by, and my daughter ran over to stop it, but shortly after, the car drove away without anyone getting out. Then I had no choice but to report the incident to the police."
Xiao Hua, nine years old and in the third grade of elementary school, recalled: "That police car was white and blue, with the words 'Public Security' printed on it. At that time, I ran over to ask for help, and the car stopped. I saw four men inside, not wearing police uniforms. I urgently told the uncle sitting in the front passenger seat, dressed in black, 'my mom's car was robbed,' and he simply replied, 'we are from somewhere else, not here, you call 110,' then they drove away."
Xiao Hua added that she decided to stop the police car because teachers and parents always teach them that, regardless of any problem encountered, they should stay calm, seek help from others if necessary, and find the police first if available.
Yesterday afternoon, A-fang and Xiao Hua brought the reporter to the scene of the incident. A-fang pointed at the intersection and said: "The robber drove towards the KFC near Chengxi Road, while the police car went towards Xi'an Road and the old Xiqiao Bridge. When my daughter tried to stop the car, it was parked at the intersection of Chengxi Road and Xi'an Road. The surveillance cameras at the intersection should have captured the scene."
Subsequently, the reporter found the clothing store where a woman said that she wasn't present that day but heard from her husband that he and two other men who were drinking tea in the store chased after the robber but didn't catch up.
The reporter visited a nearby electronics store where a staff member surnamed Wu revealed: "I saw the little girl stopping a white sedan-type police car, but I couldn't see the specific license plate clearly."
The reporter contacted the Tong'an Traffic Police Brigade to try viewing the surveillance footage from that day. However, the staff stated that only the investigating officers handling the case could access the footage if needed.
Our newspaper will continue to follow the progress of this incident.
Reporter's Notes
Why Did You Drive Away?
" We are from somewhere else, not here, call 110." This sentence from the police car left nine-year-old Xiao Hua confused because teachers and parents usually say to seek help from police uncles when encountering bad people. So why didn't these "uncles" in the car capture the bad person?
Let's assume their words weren't excuses. Perhaps, they really aren't from Tong'an, and their jurisdiction doesn't cover criminal cases, or perhaps there were other reasons... But such thinking shows a serious role deviation. Regardless of which branch of the police force, you are all People's Police.
As People's Police, broadly speaking, you must safeguard national security, maintain social order, protect citizens' personal safety, freedom, and legal property, and prevent, stop, and punish criminal activities; narrowly speaking, you should live up to the police badge.
As long as you're a police officer, you must catch the bad guys! In this incident, even strangers helped chase the robber, so why did you drive away?