Mrbitter mugged in china - Page 20

On November 16 2012 06:13 Tsuki.eu wrote:
Why do we care about that?

On November 16 2012 23:45 padfoota wrote:
How come this whole thing just feels so classy?
Wtf?

On another point of view, he probably couldnt have gotten out the cab, shanghai cab doors are only accessible on the right side.

If Mr. Bitter was sitting at the front, and the guy got in the back, or Mr. Bitter at the back and the guy got in the front, it wouldve been ok to get out.

Now, if Mr. Bitter gets in the back and the dude comes in, whole different story.

On November 16 2012 21:43 Inzan1ty wrote:


while I do agree each city has its "dark corners", one can not deny the high difference regarding minimum/average salary between china and its "blessed" neighbours japan/s.korea, which affects the psychology of each and every of their citizen and their potential getting involved into criminal activities.

you should read up on employers for Apple or any other major company in China, the desperation of just getting their families fed is quite 3rd world level there.

On November 16 2012 23:48 trinxified wrote:
I do not think he will get his money back. How can he prove to his financial institution that he did not make those withdrawals himself?

Nonetheless, I'm glad he wasn't hurt!

On November 16 2012 23:31 Cosmos wrote:



I aggree so much with you, it doesn't deserve a thread at all. Could be in blog section if he REALLY wants people to know about that.

Compassion is the virtue of empathy for the suffering of others. It is regarded as a fundamental part of human love, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism —foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.

On November 17 2012 00:37 Aterons_toss wrote:
It's really silly to be alone in a country which you don't know, with a language you don't know and in a city you don't know that is not something around the lines of Sweden, Norway, Germany... etc.
In cities like Shanghai it's very much a silly thing to have any valuables at you whatsoever, not to say anything bad about the Chinese, but rather the fact that it's the kind of place where people work 12 hours a day to procure food... pickpocketing and robbing is pretty common.

On November 17 2012 00:28 StarcraftMan wrote:
Hi, as somebody who lived in Shanghai, I'm going to give a word of advice to foreigners who go there.

First and foremost, relative to the other Chinese cities in China, Shanghai is probably one of the most safest cities in China. However, there are a lot of migrant workers in Shanghai and more often than not, it's the migrant workers that cause problems because they may not be able to find a job in Shanghai so they resort to other things, and a minority of them may resort to illegal activities.

The reason why Shanghai is safer than other cities in China is because it is a model of development for China so the government usually cracks down harder on Shanghai (ie; there are very few brothels in Shanghai compared to other Chinese cities). On average, the police in Shanghai is also less corrupt than the police in other Chinese cities. However, there is corruption everywhere in China so don't think for a second that the Shanghai police is not corrupt.

Now this is common sense when travelling in a foreign country but unfortunately, Mr. Bitter had to experience this the hard way: when you are travelling in a foreign country, you must always be extra vigilant and more cautious than when you're at home. If you suspect something is not going right, be ready to exit the situation as quickly and as peacefully as possible without offending the people you are dealing with.. This applies everywhere you travel, especially in developing countries. If Mr. Bitter had followed this rule, he would have left the cab the moment the stranger got in the cab with him.

As for violence towards foreigners in China, rest assured, the penalty is 10x more severe for the local offender if he/she is caught. The Chinese government does not tolerate any violence against foreigners, especially in Shanghai, for good reason - the Chinese government wants to keep the news free of any incidents where a foreigner is harmed in Shanghai, which is supposed to be their model city. If Mr. Bitter was severely harmed, and being an American, it made the news in the US, it would really hurt Shanghai's reputation. For that reason, I highly doubt these thugs would have had the guts to kidnap Mr. Bitter either - they simply make the threat but there is no way they would go further with their threats.

Still, if you are outnumbered, it makes no sense to fight back, especially if they just want to rob you of a few thousand dollars. You could be severely hurt if they gang up on you and/or they have weapons and the few thousands dollars you lose would be chump change compared to permanent life long injuries (or even your own life).

Overall, I would say Shanghai is quite safe to travel to compared to cities in other developing countries provided you stay vigilant and cautious. Yes, there is an obscene amount of petty crime in Shanghai day in and day out - always watch your belongings and be careful of con artists. However, the severity of crime usually does not exceed the typical petty crime or con artist situation - it rarely, rarely, goes to violent crime. Contrary to what Mr. Bitter is saying, it is quite safe to travel alone in Shanghai - just be a bit cautious and careful in the more remote areas. By far, I would rank Shanghai safer than say, New York, LA, etc.

Now what I said applies to Shanghai only. It does not apply to other Chinese cities, where the cops and gangsters are probably one and the same. I wish Mr. Bitter the best of luck and hopefully he gets to experience the better side of Shanghai rather than this ugly side.

And yes, Mr. Bitter, you should report this to the police. Unlike the police in LA or New York, I guarantee you the Shanghai police will take this very seriously and they will try to stop it, because it is bad PR for Shanghai if it gets onto the news.

On November 16 2012 21:45 Dosey wrote:

That's a little uncalled for, no?

No one was hurt and Bitter got back to his hotel safely. It was just a $1600 scared straight lesson on why you shouldn't travel alone.