Open letter to interior minister Ken-Marti Vaher

Photo: PEETER LANGOVITS/PM/EMF

We haven’t met for years. The last time, I believe, was when I shot The Untouchables (Äraostmatud) election clip for You and Your friends.

As Police and Border Guard Board lacks leader, I decided to address You, directly.

A couple of vital issues have popped up, probably of interest to others besides me.

The story goes like this:

Last December I got an email from editor of the newspaper Õhtuleht, who, in a detailed manner (with all my personal data) described a case of exceeding of speed limit (+/– 4 km/h) with a car belonging to me, and asked if I would like to challenge that. I replied: why play Savisaar, what’s done is done, I’ll take responsibility and trust Estonian police with their roadside robots. Thereafter expecting a formal address by Traffic Police. Which failed to come, for four months!

Last night at 19.38 am (!) a bailiff’s representative called me up at my private (!) mobile number and asked for permission to drop an envelope in my post-box. I kindly granted permission. Opening the envelope, I finally, at long last, saw my traffic ticket, complete with bailiff fees and thereby swollen three times over! How come, dear Ken-Marti???

Hence my questions:

Is Õhtuleht the Police and Border Guard Board’s official information sheet?

Are Õhtuleht’s staff employed by the institution under Your supervision?

Are traffic policemen unable, unwilling or forbidden to use phones and computers?

If Õhtuleht gets contact with me by mail, instantly, and a bailiff by phone, momentarily, why won’t policemen in our infamous e-state, on 21^st century, use handy and state-of-the-art means of communications?

Excuse me, but I work at a public agency, my email address and phone number being public! I’m not running, I’m not hiding. I’m sitting and waiting for my ticket, please, so I can pay the fine and life goes on!

Does Police and Border Guard Board have a co-operation agreement with bailiffs, to take joint pleasure in ruining citizens, financially?

Catching criminals, indeed, is a whole lot harder than bugging ordinary citizens! The bailiff’s representative told me straight: sorry! but such complaints – that people haven’t received their notices – are abundant!

I paid my fine yesterday, took me a second. I hope I won’t have to pay the unjust bailiff fee? But what next? Do I have to contact somebody myself (call Õhtuleht, for instance?) or sit and wait till my bank account is officially arrested and the court summons drops in the post-box?

But otherwise, have a nice cold spring!