So last night at around 11pm there was a dog barking for what felt like forever so I finally decided to open my window to take a look and see what was going on. The moment I opened it, there was a cockroach right in front of me on the outside windowsill so I got my cockroach spray, sprayed it then shut the window and forgot all about checking for the dog.
So I’m living in a second floor apartment facing the road and a few minutes later I get a call on the intercom from some guy saying bro wtf you doing so I start explaining like yo there was a cockroach I just spraying it. And he was aggressively telling me to come outside don’t outside and I’m like nah no way. So the threatened to call the police if I didn’t come out and then he called them.
A few minutes later the police arrive, I explain to them what happens and then they take me to chat with the guy who called them. After meeting the guy it was completely obvious that he saw this chance and was clearly trying to get some apology money.
With the police as the intermediary, we spent well over an hour going back and forth of me apologising, him saying an apology isn’t enough and that he wanted monetary compensation because he claims that when he heard me using the spray, he looked in my direction and breathed in some of the chemicals so now he’s probably gonna get sick and won’t be able to work any me. To this I kept apologising and telling him there’s nothing else I can do, I can’t give money.
The police explained that the only thing they can do at this point is get an apology from me and be there whilst we discuss it but the guy wasn’t satisfied with that so he started talking about suing. Once again, the police explained they can’t do anything else at the moment but if you really wanna sue, you can consult a free lawyer the country provides to see if you have a case and the night ended with the guy saying that’s what he’s gonna do. He’s gonna contact a lawyer and try to sue us which the police told him to go ahead and try and also suggest I consult one of these lawyers too.
This happened in Tokyo if that matters.
What do? Should I be worried? I got no money
23 comments
Ask him if his past life is a cockroach if the spray is affecting him that much.
Edit: I’m not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.
Is he that alien from Men In Black in disguise and he’s mad about you killing his family? Did he ask for sugar in water when you sat down with him?
What exactly is he threatening to sue you for?
dude…what happened to “you can lick my entire asshole” and going back inside? why are you even entertaining him? He wont do shit..
Never apologize for something you didn’t do, especially in front of a cop where you are admitting to culpability. In reality, there was no situation, and this fool took you for a ride, while the police happily obliged his pursuits against you because you admitted to something which never happened.
He’s trying to say you gassed him lol.
When asked anything, you should have not said anything. Not even stayed for the cops. Let the moron tell his side of the story, and it looks like he is at fault because he heard spray, and decided to inhale it.
Please let him go ahead. This will be the funniest lawsuit ever with great newspaper headlines. “Man sued for bug spray on 2nd floor of nearby building which might have gotten into lungs of bystander across the street”
It’s not a criminal matter, which is why the police won’t do anything. If anything is going to happen, you may get a letter, from a real or fake lawyer, trying to scare you into paying. No way this goes to civil court.
Why the heck did you apologize? I would have told the old man to choke on a bag of dicks.
He’s probably not going to do anything, but next time, don’t apologize for something you didn’t do. Gives them the upper hand.
refuse to give him money
go back inside
move on with your life
He will have to go to doctor for whatever the symptoms and prove that comes from your spraying. Is that possible? I doubt it
No way in hell I would apologize for this bullshit. I would ask him to prove that he actually sucked the gas. If he says he can’t, I will scoff at him and just go against everything he says. You’re not the only one who can play the game, pal.
The correct way to handle this:
1. Go upstairs and get the spray
2. Go downstairs and smile creepily at the guy, open your mouth, and spray yourself directly in the mouth
3. Go in for the French kiss
But seriously, sorry you’re dealing with this. In your situation I would likely escalate and end up in jail. The key thing when dealing with police here is that they are on THE POLICE’s side, and I’m not one of those anti-authority people. The police here are under a lot of pressure to neatly find a person to blame by documenting their guilt and admission. They will pressure you to come in for a chat and the things you explain to them are not necessarily what they will write down. You will be paraphrased. If the interpreter is not in the mood to help you and you cannot read kanji before you sign your statement, you are super in trouble. I have been in this situation and can tell you first hand that it is something right out of a movie.
TLDR: Don’t say anything that implicates you no matter what, do not expect your words to be accurately transcribed (check!), and always threaten to counter-sue for harassment, especially when in the proximity of your home.
I think free lawyer service is for inquiry only. It would cost him more to take this to the court.
Call me a piece of shit but unless we made eye contact while I was spraying… it wasn’t me.
Tell him to go fuck himself. No judge is gonna side with him.
I’m sorry officers, I have no idea what this person is talking about and he’s making me feel unsafe.
It’s late and I need to go to sleep for work tomorrow.
Am I free to go back inside? Am I under arrest?
No? Ok. Good evening.
… is how this thing should’ve gone.
Or better yet, you were under no obligation to go meet with this dude.
Probably need to work on your assertiveness.
The whole story sounds completely nuts.
Never apologize about something you didnt do. You didnt spray him. If cops comes up make sure to say that you didnt do anything and just go back to your house.
If you didnt do anything and that person is being an asshole, all you can do is ignore him, or sue him if he troubles you to some point you cant stand it and affects your private life (like having his dog barking forever late in the night)
Stfu and go back to sleep is what I would
Have said if apology wasn’t enough. It ain’t like you meant hit him. Wrong place at a wrong time buddy
You handled this as poorly as possible. But your first mistake was speaking Japanese and humoring this clown.
Lmao, also dude, how much fucking spray did you use?! I mean, if you used a whole can and half of it blew into my window, I’d be pissed as well.
I’d go with the cops to look at the dude, and laugh. And, of course, speak only English, and broken Nihongo as needed.
Is filming permitted? I’d bring my go pro, if so.
Counter sue for all the mental anguish due to this guys micro aggression. You cant go to work because of the stress caused by this interaction.
Are these low life scammers getting more and more ballsy with targeting foreigners? I literally just got back from the conbini and I was parking my bike and looking at a poster I hear some guy whisper すみませんすみません. I look over and he kinda nods at me and keeps saying it, and I’m like… はい？ as I walk into the conbini. When I get out he’s standing right next to my bike and then he starts begging me for 500 yen. Dude was shlubby looking but not homeless. And smoking a cigarette. I told him to bug off. Shoulda told him if he needed 500 yen to stop buying packs of cigarettes. WTF.